Future viability more important than maximum profit
09.09.2024 - Four more regional companies receive Common Good certificates as part of the cooperation between Alanus University and WFG Bornheim.
Four more regional companies receive Common Good certificates as part of the cooperation between Alanus University and WFG Bornheim.
In cooperation with business students from Alanus University and the Common Good consultants Anne Berg and Claudia Schleicher, the Bonn-based energy provider Knauber Erdgas, the Meckenheim logistics company PVS eCommerce-Services, the Bornheim metalworking company Summira and the Cologne event agency Welcome have prepared their first Common Good balance sheet. Together with Bornheim Mayor Christoph Becker, Alanus University Rector Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Pieper had the honor of presenting the certificates.
As early as last year, the Bornheim companies Biohof Apfelbacher, Dalitz Immobilien and Nelles Backmanufaktur had successfully taken part in the process. The “Common Good Economy” project is an initiative for the sustainable transformation of the region by the Bornheim Business Development and Economic Development Corporation (WFG Bornheim), Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, the City of Bornheim, the Bornheim Business Circle and consultants from Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie e.V. By preparing a Common Good balance sheet, companies gain a 360° overview of their sustainability activities to date. They identify what is already working well and where there is room for improvement. The assessment is not based on profit, as with a conventional financial balance sheet, but on fundamental values such as human dignity, justice and ecological sustainability.
“Assessing our current position with the help of the Common Good balance sheet gave us many new insights and a holistic view of our company. Where do we stand, and how can we continue to improve? It was an incredibly educational and enriching time. We are now even more aware and will in future, among other things, take a more critical look at supply chains,” said Ines Knauber-Daubenbüchel during the ceremonial presentation at Bornheim Town Hall.
Willi Lenzen of the Bornheim-based company Summira GmbH emphasizes that the Common Good balance sheet is “not at all comparable” with other sustainability reporting. “It is much more holistic and honest than other reports I know. You look at all company processes and analyze how environmentally responsible action can be aligned there with economic stability and social responsibility. That helps us position our company clearly – in the market, in society and above all with regard to our employees. I think you have no chance of entrepreneurial survival if you do not address these questions.” And Frauke Landsberg from the Welcome event agency concludes: “We engaged intensively with the ethical aspects of the Common Good Economy. Fair and mindful interaction with one another is important to us. We are setting out on this path and want to organize more sustainable events in the future.”
Companies that would like to align and further develop themselves in this way can contact WFG Bornheim or its cooperation partners: “We will continue the successful collaboration with our cooperation partners and are always pleased to hear from interested parties so that, together with the companies, we can further strengthen the orientation toward the common good in the region,” said Joachim Strauß, Managing Director of WFG Bornheim.
Photo caption: Bornheim Mayor Christoph Becker (2nd from left) and Rector Hans-Joachim Pieper (center) presented the certificates at Bornheim Town Hall.© Alanus University
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