(14) Haniel - Investing for profit and a future worth living

This episode features Calle Medin, Vice President Sustainability at Husqvarna Group. Calle presents a process Husqvarna set up in 2019 to promote circular business ideas. The starting point is the strategic ambition of the management board. Calle and his team defined focus areas and decision criteria. He shares the different motivations of employees to submit ideas and how the selection committee was staffed. The episode concludes with reflections on the implementation of the ideas and success rates.

This episode features Angela Hultberg, Global Sustainability Director at Kearney. She discusses the critical role of circular economy strategies in achieving sustainable business practices. She emphasizes the necessity of rethinking business models, products, and services from the ground up to integrate circularity effectively. Angela highlights the challenges of changing consumer behaviors and the importance of collaboration within and outside organizations to foster a circular economy. She concludes by stressing the urgency of making significant decisions and taking action towards sustainability, despite the complexities of defining complete circularity.

This episode features Alexander Shevelov from Würth Group discussing their journey and strategies in integrating sustainability into business processes. Würth's approach is all about integrating internal and external stakeholders into the process, listening to their needs and giving them ownership. The conversation delves into the role of sustainability ambassadors, having top-management support and involving external partners. People: Alexander Shevelov, Strategy & People Lead Sustainable Value Chain Management, Würth Group Patrick Hypscher, Co-Founder of Green PO, Expert in Sustainable Business Models About Würth (from website): The Würth Group is the global market leader in the development, production, and sale of fastening and assembly materials. The Würth Group operates worldwide and currently consists of more than 400 companies with more than 2,700 branches and shops in 80 countries. In its core business, the manufacturing of assembly and fastening materials, the Würth Group is a firmly established market player. Further Links: Würth Group, https://www.wuerth.com/

Many investors and companies struggle to balance profit and impact. Should we go for one at the expense of the other? Or can we combine the two? And if so, how do we translate this ambition into tangible goals and make them work in day-to-day operations? In this episode, Axel Berger, Chief Sustainability Officer at Haniel, shares how Haniel has profit and impact targets.

What do you do if you need to solve a problem you are not familiar with? You learn new skills. Or you ask for help. It’s the same for companies testing a new proposition. So, you have to decide what are the things you do internally and what are the things you ask others for support. In this episode, Robert Klauer tells us how vaude – a German outdoor equipment manufacturer– split the work for running its renting proposition.

At running events, drinks are typically provided in disposable cups. That is a significant amount of waste. SCC events, the Berlin Marathon and Berlin Half-Marathon organizer, wants to change that. So they partnered with Cuna Products, Remondis, and WWF to pilot a reusable cup. Collaboration is essential to move towards a circular economy. This episode sheds light on the implications for the users, the product, the logistics, and the pricing. Thanks to Michael, Head of Operations at SCC Events, and Rafael, CEO and founder of CUNA Products, for sharing their experience with us!

From time to time, ingenious people sit in the laboratory and discover new technology, find new insights about how the world works, or how to improve the status quo. But how to turn that into practice? There might be plenty of possible applications in multiple markets. You cannot start with everything at the same time. How do you evaluate these options? How do you make a choice? In this episode, Juni, co-founder of mujo labs, shares her story about leveraging the benefits of algae to provide biodegradable packaging materials.

What is the best legal entity to start a sustainable business? The way an organization is set up defines its modus operandi. Whether money is a means to an end or an end in itself is decided at that early moment. In this episode, Élie, co-founder of Commown, shares the rationale and details of running an organization as a cooperative in collective interest.

What does it take to reduce packaging waste? Re-usable packaging in e-commerce starts with customer information, checkout adaptations and needs to tackle a fundamental question: How does the packaging return? In this episode, Doris, founder of Hey Circle describes the steps necessary to switch to re-usable packaging.

Do you put planet over profit? Every organization answers this question, mostly implicitly in day-to-day decisions. It's the job of the leadership team to set priorities when it comes to planet and profit ambitions. In this episode, a leader of a purpose-driven startup founded by a stock-listed company shares his experience of balancing planet and profit ambitions.