Working together for a good life in our region!
01/02/2023 - How compatible is my company with people and the environment? – Since September 2022, students at Alanus University have been taking a close look at three companies in Bornheim as part of the ‘Practical Seminar on the Economy for the Common Good’ and working with them on a Common Good Balance Sheet.
How compatible is my company with people and the environment? – Since September 2022, students at Alanus University have been taking a close look at three companies in Bornheim as part of the ‘Practical Seminar on the Economy for the Common Good’ and working with them on a Common Good Balance Sheet.
For Biohof Apfelbacher, Dalitz Immobilien and Nelles Backmanufaktur, this meant that, unlike in a conventional financial balance sheet, there were no plus points for generating as much profit as possible, but rather for their orientation toward fundamental values such as human dignity, justice, transparency and ecological sustainability.
“The Common Good Balance Sheet is a proven tool for systematically aligning companies more closely with sustainability and promotes a good life for people in our region,” says Bornheim’s mayor Christoph Becker. “For the companies and our students, this is a win-win situation,” adds university rector Hans-Joachim Pieper. “The Common Good Balance Sheet not only shows companies what is already going well, but also motivates them to continue working toward achieving their sustainability goals. Not least, this also makes them attractive employers and enhances their positive image among customers and partners, while students get to know business practice and gain new horizons through practical experience.”
The participating companies are also enthusiastic: “Working with the students was a real enrichment,” say Elmar and Gabi Dalitz of Dalitz Immobilien. It was also very valuable to look at their own business from a different perspective and thereby leave well-worn paths behind, says Martin Koch of Biohof Apfelbacher. And master baker Frank Nelles sums it up: “The balancing process is like going to the sauna. And in the sauna, you first make yourself naked. The students were the sauna masters. They really turned up the heat by analyzing our very internal processes. But, just like in the sauna, you feel good and refreshed afterwards. Now we are continuing on our path. Next step: how do we bring even more employees along with us?”
The “Practical Seminar on the Economy for the Common Good” was led by the experienced common good consultants Anne Berg and Dr. Christoph Harrach and is a cooperation for the sustainable transformation of the region between Alanus University, Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Bornheim, the City of Bornheim, the business network Bornheimer Unternehmerkreis and the Stiftung Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie NRW.
Cover photo, from left:
Back row: Elmar and Gabi Dalitz, university rector Hans-Joachim Pieper, Joachim Strauß (WFG Bornheim), Sandra and Frank Nelles, Martin Koch and Franz Apfelbacher, Klaus Zimmermann (Bornheimer Unternehmerkreis, dhpg), common good consultant Anne Berg, Sebastian Römer (Business Development Bornheim)
Front row: Paul Corrales (WFG Bornheim), common good consultant Christoph Harrach (Stiftung Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie NRW)
© Alanus University
