EUROPEAN
SUSTAINABILITY WEEK

Let’s look at the necessities for regeneration and bioregionalism to prosper. What do we need to let go off and what do we need to prioritise instead. Ralph Thurm takes us on his personal journey and will help you to initiate your own. How could you best use your existing knowledge for the bioregionalism context, how can you find allies and get started. Or in short: what is it to hospice, what is it to midwife. And find your new inner self

It’s time to rekindle the potential of carbon credits. While past challenges have shaken trust, a powerful movement is now leading the way: Buddhist monks, monasteries, and an alliance of activists, scientists and specialists in Thailand and Germany are building a forward-looking model: a 100% trusted, 100% biodiverse, and lasting forest. Be part of this credible solution and help us actively reverse climate change!

How can real estate owners turn ESG from a reporting duty into a P&L lever? This breakout connects two value drivers: (1) efficiency measures—energy retrofits, building automation, PV self-consumption, and battery storage—to lower operating costs, and (2) financing advantages from credible ESG data, certifications, and decarbonization plans that can improve loan terms. We’ll share practical case snapshots, simple payback/IRR frames, and what lenders actually look for in 2025. Expect a hands-on discussion you can translate into your next capex plan and financing conversation.

In this session, we will use concrete practical examples and current studies—such as those from the World Institute of Economics—to show how a company’s economic success stems directly from health-promoting working conditions. These framework conditions are shaped together with the employees: participation, transparency, and genuine appreciation create a high-performing community in which health, sustainable corporate success, and future viability go hand in hand. Our digital management platform not only supports compliance with occupational health and safety laws, but also establishes a corporate health campus that manages and administers human capital with the same care as financial capital—as an integral part of the business strategy.

Prof. Pfaff first shows how the S dimension within ESG can be defined in a way that makes the value-creating and productive aspects of the social dimension visible and manageable.
He then explains that this requires subdividing the S dimension into four system-critical social capacities and several multifunctional clusters of social infrastructure. Together, these capacities and infrastructures generate collective capacity for action – the core of social performance – and form the foundation of organizational transformational capability.
Furthermore, Prof. Pfaff demonstrates that these dimensions can be validly measured through KPIs, based on data from the University of Cologne study (2024) conducted as part of the IW Personnel Panel.
Finally, he illustrates how the identified social performance potential can be made practically applicable by using insights from implementation science. A 90-day plan – moving from awareness to pilot routines and finally to review and consolidation – enables a transition from reporting to capability.
The approach is illustrated using the IFOS tools and the IFOS implementation program. In its basic form – i.e., without IW benchmark data and IFOS tools – the approach can, in principle, also be applied internally or in collaboration with other partners.

In a world that demands constant change, sustainability professionals often carry the weight of responsibility — for teams, for impact, and for the planet. This workshop helps you sustain your energy and clarity while increasing your effectiveness.

Burn Bright, Not Out introduces tools and practices to strengthen self-management, sharpen focus, and prevent fatigue — so you can stay inspired instead of drained. Building on insights from neuroscience and purpose research, it connects inner sustainability with outer impact.

Through interactive reflection, embodied exercises, and peer exchange, participants learn how to:

• Recognize personal and systemic burnout patterns and
• Make use of alliances and room for (collective) flow states
• Create conditions for “strategic serendipity” — moments where clarity, connection, and opportunity align

You’ll leave with practical routines and a renewed sense of direction — ready to lead change and feel the strength of collective  change-making.

Klüber Lubrication turns lubrication into a sustainability driver. Our high-tech specialty lubricants reduce friction, cut energy use by an average of 4%, and often pay back in under one year. In 2024, Klüber Energy Efficiency projects saved 641,000 MWh worldwide and 143,000 tonnes of CO₂, while boosting machine reliability and lowering maintenance costs. Combined with next-level lubricants and digital tools, we help industries achieve climate goals and profitability—moving beyond lubrication toward sustainable success. Learn more about how to leverage sustainability in this breakout session.

In today’s sustainability landscape, data is both the compass and the map. Yet the challenge lies not only in collecting it — but in knowing which data matters most, at what level of detail, and how to turn it into meaningful action. This session will guide you through the complex data universe of sustainability, showing how to achieve optimal granularity, and transform fragmented information into powerful insights. Beyond regulatory compliance, this presentation will explore how data-enabled sustainability can deliver genuine business value and future-proof impact.

Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business and eventually degenerates into a racket” (E. Hoffer). Sustainability is dangerously close to proving the quote right. The field leaned too heavily on regulation as its engine. When the regulatory wave pulled back, it exposed how little real ownership organisations had built. This workshop challenges the comfort zone. We explore why the current model collapsed, why “less regulation” isn’t the answer, and how renewed leadership, empowered employees and smart, balanced rules can shift sustainability back from compliance mode to genuine impact.