04 Fakultät Energie-, Verfahrens- und Biotechnik

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/handle/11682/5

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Publication Type: search.filters.UBSTyp.ZeitschriftenartikelAuthor: search.filters.author.Buettner, Stefan M.

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    Roadmap to neutrality - what foundational questions need answering to determine one’s ideal decarbonisation strategy
    (2022) Buettner, Stefan M.
    Considering increasingly ambitious pledges by countries and various forms of pressure from current international constellations, society, investors, and clients further up the supply chain, the question for companies is not so much whether to take decarbonisation action, but what action and by when. However, determining an ideal mix of measures to apply ‘decarbonisation efficiency’ requires more than knowledge of technically feasible measures and how to combine them to achieve the most economic outcome: In this paper, working in a ‘backcasting’ manner, the author describes seven aspects which heavily influence the composition of an ‘ideal mix’ that executive leadership needs to take a (strategic) position on. Contrary to previous studies, these aspects consider underlying motivations and span across (socio-)economic, technical, regulatory, strategic, corporate culture, and environmental factors and further underline the necessity of clarity of definitions. How these decisions influence the determination of the decarbonisation-efficient ideal mix of measures is further explored by providing concrete examples. Insights into the choices taken by German manufacturers regarding several of these aspects stem from about 850 responses to the ‘Energy Efficiency Index of German Industry’. Knowledge of the status quo, and clarity in definitions, objectives, time frames, and scope are key.
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    How do german manufacturers react to the increasing societal pressure for decarbonisation?
    (2022) Buettner, Stefan M.; Schneider, Christian; König, Werner; Mac Nulty, Hannes; Piccolroaz, Chiara; Sauer, Alexander
    From the perspective of manufacturing companies, the political, media and economic discourse on decarbonisation in the recent years manifests itself as an increasing social expectation of action. In Germany, in particular, this discourse is also being driven forward by powerful companies, respectively sectors, most notably the automotive industry. Against this background, the present paper examines how German manufacturing companies react to rising societal pressure and emerging policies. It examines which measures the companies have taken or plan to take to reduce their carbon footprint, which aspirations are associated with this and the structural characteristics (company size, energy intensity, and sector) by which these are influenced. A mix methods approach is applied, utilising data gathered from approx. 900 companies in context of the Energy Efficiency Index of German Industry (EEI), along with media research focusing on the announced decarbonisation plans and initiatives. We demonstrate that one-size-serves-all approaches are not suitable to decarbonise industry, as the situation and ambitions differ considerably depending on size, energy intensity and sector. Even though the levels of ambition and urgency are high, micro and energy intensive companies, in particular, are challenged. The present research uncovers a series of questions that call for attention to materialise the ambitions and address the challenges outlined.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    How do German manufacturers react to the increasing societal pressure for decarbonisation?
    (2022) Buettner, Stefan M.; Schneider, Christian; König, Werner; Mac Nulty, Hannes; Piccolroaz, Chiara; Sauer, Alexander
    From the perspective of manufacturing companies, the political, media and economic discourse on decarbonisation in the recent years manifests itself as an increasing social expectation of action. In Germany, in particular, this discourse is also being driven forward by powerful companies, respectively sectors, most notably the automotive industry. Against this background, the present paper examines how German manufacturing companies react to rising societal pressure and emerging policies. It examines which measures the companies have taken or plan to take to reduce their carbon footprint, which aspirations are associated with this and the structural characteristics (company size, energy intensity, and sector) by which these are influenced. A mix methods approach is applied, utilising data gathered from approx. 900 companies in context of the Energy Efficiency Index of German Industry (EEI), along with media research focusing on the announced decarbonisation plans and initiatives. We demonstrate that one-size-serves-all approaches are not suitable to decarbonise industry, as the situation and ambitions differ considerably depending on size, energy intensity and sector. Even though the levels of ambition and urgency are high, micro and energy intensive companies, in particular, are challenged. The present research uncovers a series of questions that call for attention to materialise the ambitions and address the challenges outlined.