tag:www.cliccs.uni-hamburg.de,2005:/de/research/theme-b/b4/updatesUpdates aus dem Projekt2023-09-22T09:58:57ZNAGR-fakmin-35667457-production2023-09-21T22:00:00ZTheresa Rötzel participates in ETH Summer School "Energy Technology, Policy, and Politics – How to Build a Net-Zero GHG Emissions Energy System"<img width="293" height="165" style="float:left" src="https://assets.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/instance_assets/fakmin/35667483/summer-school-eth-2023-733x414-eaf1e5ba4a579ef0ca533325ba46ef69ddb47a00.jpg" /><p>From August 27 to September 1, 2023, Theresa Rötzel attended the summer school "Energy Technology, Policy, and Politics – How to Build a Net-Zero GHG Emissions Energy System" organized by the Institute of Science, Technology, and Policy (ISTP) of ETH Zurich and the Energy Science Center (ESC) at Monte Verità in Ascona, Switzerland.</p>
<p>The participants of the summer school engaged in a rich program that included 12 keynotes covering a wide area of topics such as zero-emission transport, the politics of phasing down global coal, and company perspectives on transitioning to net zero. Furthermore, the participants presented their own research projects through scientific posters and received feedback from peers and speakers.</p>
<p>Another highlight of the summer school was the exploration of case studies, which aimed to deepen the understanding of the complexities, interrelationships, opportunities, and risks associated with various national pathways toward a net-zero greenhouse gas economy.</p>
<p>Overall, it was an inspiring week with insightful discussions and a rich exchange of ideas in an interdisciplinary environment.</p><p>Foto: ETH Zürich</p>NAGR-fakmin-35004099-production2023-07-05T22:00:00ZResearchers and industry representatives gather at second D°GREES Symposium in Hamburg to discuss “Climate Management Matters”<img width="293" height="165" style="float:left" src="https://assets.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/instance_assets/fakmin/35004112/gruppenfoto-symposium-2023-733x414-55e97023993d671b92f079f9f6c9a125f787db5a.jpg" /><p>During the last week of June, the second D°GREES Symposium took place in Hamburg. As an integral part of our research on 20 companies from five different countries, the main goals of the Symposium were to bring together all parties involved in the D°GREES project and enhance collaboration among them. The D°GREES project team was able to invite representatives of participating companies as well as our academic partners again for a three-day, in-person event to Hamburg. Company representatives from Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan, and Germany, accepted the invitation and engaged in fruitful discussions around the main topic of the Symposium "Climate Management Matters!". The participants reflected the international and multi-sectoral scope of the project and promised interesting debates.</p>
<p>The Symposium was kicked off by Prof. Dr. Timo Busch on Wednesday, June 28. Theresa Rötzel and Thomas Frisch followed with a presentation on an overview of the project research along with the main topics and findings. Then, Brigitte Frank and Matthew Johnson presented on the status quo of corporate climate targets investigating the question "What is fueling progress?". The research results allowed for rich discussions and feedback for companies and researchers to benefit. After lunch, company representatives from different countries had the chance to present their achievements and challenges related to decarbonization and climate management – among them company-specific initiatives and issues related to data collection, offsetting, or setting science-based targets. The day ended with a keynote on "Physical climate risks for companies" by Prof. Dr. Jana Sillmann, professor for climate statistics and extreme events at the University of Hamburg and chair of the CLICCS C1 project. Her speech reminded everyone in the room about the urgent need to assess and minimize physical climate risks and work towards a better translation of these risks from scientific to business language, which offers both challenges and opportunities for mutual collaboration.</p>
<p>On the second full-day, Thursday, June 29, Prof. Dr. Anita Engels, Prof. Dr. Timo Busch, and Prof. Dr. Achim Oberg started with a presentation on whether investors are shifting towards decarbonization. Following, Jakob Strobel and Matthew Johnson provided first insights for an interactive session on the topic "Between the lines – From ineffective to effective carbon reduction activities". This interactive format in smaller break-out groups enabled lively and rewarding discussions among company representatives. Again, two representatives from different companies had an opportunity to discuss their projects and provide valuable information. While the presentations on the first full-day primarily centered around reducing carbon emissions in the supply chain, the presentations on the second day dealt with companies working on decarbonization in their value chains. They presented the difficulties they face in transforming their business models within sectors that produce significant emissions. In the final interactive session of the day, Solange Commelin and Theresa Rötzel invited the company representatives to provide feedback at various tables, including future collaborations, company-related research topics, and profiting from the D°GREES network. After the closing remarks from the D°GREES team, the event concluded with networking and informal discussions during dinner at a restaurant in the Speicherstadt district.</p>
<p>On Friday, June 30, the Symposium participants reassembled in the morning for a guided tour of the energy bunker Wilhelmsburg. The tour provided unique insights into its innovative transformation process from a World War II air-raid shelter into a sustainable energy facility, also including the use of industrial waste heat for district heating as an interesting case of public-private partnership. The Symposium ended with a final lunch together and additional time for networking.</p>
<p>Feedback from the participating company representatives confirms the D°GREES research team’s assessment that the Symposium was a great success and yielded valuable insights for both researchers and company representatives. It was encouraging to see every participant’s willingness to continue to work together in order to better understand and support the decarbonization of the economy. The D°GREES team would like to thank all participants of the 2023 D°GREES Symposium. We are looking forward to our future cooperation!</p><p>Foto: Jakob Strobel</p>NAGR-fakmin-32993853-production2022-12-11T23:00:00ZJoint workshop with representatives from Kyoto University<img width="293" height="165" style="float:left" src="https://assets.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/instance_assets/fakmin/32993966/img-5755-733x414-5eb9b8fb6776529d9b01205e5dd8a7a10afecc14.jpg" /><p>On Thursday, 8th of December, members of the D°GREES project team met for a joint workshop with Prof. Akihisa Mori, Associate Professor at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies (GSGES), and Reina Chinen, one of Prof. Mori's master's students. The goal of the workshop was to foster scientific exchange between the two universities. In addition, D°GREES research associate Solange Commelin will be visiting Prof. Mori at Kyoto University early next year to undertake research related to her PhD topic on the interactions between climate movements and corporate responses to climate change.</p>
<p>During the workshop, Prof. Dr. Anita Engels introduced the CLICCS B4 project and presented current research. Likewise, Prof. Mori presented his current research before the group engaged in a discussion about potential areas of future collaboration. Reina Chinen reflected on her experiences during her two-month research stay at University of Hamburg, where she supported the D°GREES project. Lastly, Solange Commelin provided insights into the upcoming research visit at Kyoto University.</p>
<p>The D°GREES team thanks Prof. Mori and Reina Chinen for the fruitful discussions and looks forward to exploring further avenues of future collaboration.</p><p>Foto: Anita Engels</p>NAGR-fakmin-32297027-production2022-10-10T22:00:00ZD°GREES Team @ German Sociological Association (DGS) Congress in Bielefeld, Germany<img width="293" height="165" style="float:left" src="https://assets.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/instance_assets/fakmin/32298736/dgs-congress-2022-733x414-56f6ea373c970f3c9ca0e207903d004b541b8d08.jpg" /><p>More than 2,500 scientists came together for the bi-annual congress of the German Sociological Association in Bielefeld, Germany from September 26-30. The topic of this year's event was "Polarizing Worlds", a quite timely issue considering the current global circumstances. Several members of the D°GREES project team were present at the congress and contributed to the plethora of sessions that the event had to offer.</p>
<p>Anita Engels presented her thoughts on "In search of the right language for sociological consulting" during the panel "Transformation Sociology? Sociological approaches: Between understanding, experimenting and participating in the process of societal change".</p>
<p>Achim Oberg and Alexander Mitterle shared their research with Elisabeth Ebert on "How do organizations discuss climate change? Reconstructing organizational fields in the world wide web by using the building and construction industry as an example" within the sub-theme "Sociology of Nature and Sustainability: Trends in sociological research on nature and sustainability".</p>
<p>Thomas Frisch provided insights into his ongoing work on "Climate Reporting as driver for a green economy. Insights from a sociology of valuation on the new transparency of companies' climate impact" during the panel: "Polarizing World Regimes: Economics and Practices of Valuation".</p>
<p>The five-day conference not only offered extensive opportunities to expand and update knowledge on the current developments in sociological research but also possibilities to network and foster collaborations amongst institutes. The inviting and invigorating atmosphere made it suitable for both early stage researchers as well as established academics. The D°GREES team looks forward to the next DGS conference where we hope to share more insights into our research.</p><p>Foto: DGS; Universität Bielefeld</p>NAGR-fakmin-31601467-production2022-07-03T22:00:00ZCompany representatives and researchers meet for inaugural D°GREES symposium in Hamburg<img width="293" height="165" style="float:left" src="https://assets.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/instance_assets/fakmin/31601521/gruppenfoto-symposium-2022-733x414-a8e2c142022ea076e74f2536a75b1c40a5f38442.jpg" /><p>During the last three days of June, the first D°GREES symposium successfully took place in Hamburg. As an integral part of our cooperation with our project partners, the symposium aims at bringing together all parties involved in the D°GREES project and enhancing exchange among them. Originally, the event was planned for 2021 but had to be postponed due to restrictions related to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the D°GREES project team was delighted to be able to invite representatives of all participating companies as well as several academic cooperation partners this year for a three-day, in-person event to Hamburg. With the presence of company representatives from the US, Brazil, Japan, and Germany, the participant list reflected the international reach of the project and promised interesting debates. As the representatives from Hong Kong could not participate in person due to travel restrictions, some of the presentations and workshops were organized in hybrid formats.</p>
<p>After a welcoming dinner at the event venue on the evening before, the symposium was kicked off on Wednesday, June 29, with a welcome speech by Prof. Dr. Timo Busch and Dr. Matthew Johnson, followed by a brief introduction round of all participants. Prof. Dr. Jochem Marotzke set the scene with his keynote on "Global CO2 emissions reductions and the Paris Agreement: Insights from IPCC AR6" reminding all present of the urgent need to bring emissions down to net zero. Over the course of the day, the D°GREES project team presented research results, and the participants discussed the challenges and opportunities of corporate decarbonization in three interactive sessions. Thomas Frisch and Theresa Rötzel summarized the academic literature on corporate climate reporting and target setting before highlighting some preliminary observations from the first interview rounds with the companies. In doing so, several challenges to reporting and target setting were pointed out that were subsequently discussed with all participants. The second interactive session followed a similar procedure. Dr. Matthew Johnson and Theresa Rötzel offered an account of their systematic literature review on the challenges of corporate deep decarbonization and contextualized this with insights from the interviews. The participants split into three break-out groups that focused on different levels of barriers respectively. The separation into smaller groups enabled very lively and rewarding discussions among company representatives and with the D°GREES researchers that functioned as moderators. Subsequently, the main insights from these break-out-discussions were summarized and shared with the plenum, so everyone could benefit from all discussions. In the final interactive session of the day, Dr. Matthew Johnson and Solange Commelin laid out several facilitators and supporting factors for deep decarbonization that emerged from both the academic literature and the company interviews, followed by an open discussion with all participants.</p>
<p>On Thursday, June 30, the symposium participants reassembled in the morning to head towards Altenwerder for a guided tour around the world’s first climate-neutral container terminal. The tour provided unique insights into how large quantities of containers are handled and how this can be done in a sustainable manner. In the afternoon, the symposium participants were welcomed by representatives of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, who generously offered its facilities to host the second keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Stefan C. Aykut on "Corporate Climate Action: Insights from COP26 in Glasgow". After the closing remarks and a feedback round on the symposium from the D°GREES team, the event came to a close with networking and informal discussions during dinner on the Chamber of Commerce's rooftop terrace.</p>
<p>Feedback from the participating company representatives conforms to the perception of the D°GREES research team that the symposium was very successful and yielded valuable insights for both researchers and company representatives. It was great to see the willingness of all parties to further engage in fruitful cooperation in order to better understand and support the decarbonization of the economy. The D°GREES team would like to thank all participants of the 2022 inaugural D°GREES symposium. We are looking forward to future cooperation with our project partners!</p><p>Foto: Clara Privato</p>NAGR-fakmin-31601351-production2022-06-02T22:00:00ZGRONEN Conference 2022<img width="293" height="165" style="float:left" src="https://assets.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/instance_assets/fakmin/31601369/img-2214-733x414-f6c51d569a37d1dd8a0c4f8fa3db67adf08aa1e5.jpg" /><p>The GRONEN Research Conference 2022 was hosted by the Amsterdam Business School at the University of Amsterdam and took place from May 31 to June 2. The conference offered diverse formats, including regular paper sessions, short paper development sessions, special issue sessions, social events, innovative professional development sessions, and interactive plenary discussions/keynotes by leading scholars and practitioners.</p>
<p>During the conference, Dr. Matthew Johnson, a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Management & Sustainability and member of the D°GREES project team presented the paper "Beyond corporate responses to climate change towards deep decarbonization: A systematic literature review". It is a joint paper project with Theresa Rötzel and Brigitte Frank, both doctoral researchers at the Chair and also members of D°GREES. On day two, D°GREES project chair Prof. Dr. Timo Busch and Lisa Scheitza, who is also working as doctoral researcher at the Chair, presented their paper "The Effect of Shareholder Proposals on Firms' ESG and Carbon Performance" in the plenary paper session on impact.</p>
<p>The conference offered lively discussions, valuable feedback, and great networking opportunities for our team members, who are already looking forward to the next GRONEN conference in two years.</p><p>Foto: Matthew Johnson</p>NAGR-fakmin-31601263-production2022-05-15T22:00:00ZTheresa Rötzel wins study award of the Dr. Walter Kapaun Foundation<img width="293" height="165" style="float:left" src="https://assets.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/instance_assets/fakmin/31601300/gruppenfoto-kapaun-preis-2022-733x414-aa2d0bad382954ffd473e429b9e1e83c419ad785.jpg" /><p>For the fifth time, the Dr. Walter Kapaun Foundation presented its study award in cooperation with the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Social Sciences of the University of Hamburg for outstanding theses and dissertations in the field of ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability. Three winners each among the Bachelor's and Master's students as well as one doctoral student were honored this year.</p>
<p>The D°GREES project team is very proud and happy that the first prize among the Master's theses was awarded to our team member Theresa Rötzel. In her thesis, she investigated the hurdles for German companies on the path to deep decarbonization. Based on semi-structured expert interviews, she examined how companies from different sectors face and tackle the challenges related with corporate climate action.</p>
<p>The prize will be awarded again next year. Students and thesis supervisors can contact Stefanie Remmer from the Chair of Business Administration, esp. Business Ethics, with any questions: stefanie.remmer@uni-hamburg.de.</p><p>Foto: Dirk Ulrich Gilbert</p>NAGR-fakmin-29686293-production2021-12-14T23:00:00ZReviewing 30 years of Literature on Corporate Responses to Climate Change<img width="293" height="165" style="float:left" src="https://assets.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/instance_assets/fakmin/29688726/20170622-31-hauptgebaude-ost-bibliothek-denstorf-733x414-1dfb18f101b5fba6eabf0704b1d6b03c69dc62bd.jpg" /><p>Three researchers, Dr. Matthew Johnson, Brigitte Frank, and Theresa Rötzel, members of the project D°GREES (Decarbonization: Global Research on Effects in Enterprises and Societies) as part of the Cluster of Excellence "Climate, Climatic Change, and Society" (CLICCS), have systematically reviewed the literature on corporate responses to climate change with a focus on deep decarbonization. The research project has categorized the literature according to four themes, including external and internal drivers of corporate responses, actual corporate responses via corporate mitigation measures and activities, barriers impeding effective responses, and facilitating criteria to overcome these barriers.</p>
<p>The review suggests that the drivers, measures, barriers, and facilitators are sufficiently covered in the literature focused on corporate responses to climate change. Several main drivers include institutional drivers, such as governmental regulations and policies (e.g., emission trading schemes), organizational drivers (e.g., cost-savings and creation of new markets), and individual drivers (e.g., top management commitment and bottom-up employee initiatives). Mitigation measures can be grouped into four categories: communication (e.g., climate reporting), collaboration (e.g., carbon reduction along supply chains), administration (e.g., target setting), and implementation (e.g., energy efficiency and process improvements). Barriers can also be categorized as external barriers (e.g., political uncertainty) and internal barriers (e.g., lack of expertise and organizational inertia). Finally, facilitators include organizational change (e.g., high ambition and commitment), capabilities (e.g., long-term vision and stakeholder engagement), and external support (e.g., governmental subsidies and other R&D grants). These findings were useful in writing the section dedicated to the social driver assessment, "Corporate Responses", in the 2021 Hamburg Climate Futures Outlook. </p>
<p>Despite finding a wide coverage of drivers, measures, barriers, and facilitators related to corporate responses to climate change, the review highlights a minimal connection of these four areas when focusing on deep decarbonization and related concepts, including absolute reduction, carbon neutral, and low carbon. Thus, this exposes a significant research gap dealing with corporate responses to deep decarbonization. In the coming months, the authors plan to present these results at an academic conference and soon after in an academic journal.</p><p>Foto: UHH/Denstorf</p>NAGR-fakmin-29063512-production2021-10-27T22:00:00ZSustainable Finance and Decarbonization: What do these terms mean for your business?<img width="293" height="165" style="float:left" src="https://assets.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/instance_assets/fakmin/29686616/coin-jar-unsplash-733x414-3d66217b2b34faf1ce207b03ea4e85bbf445177a.jpg" /><p>The webinar, "Sustainable Finance and Decarbonization: What do these terms mean for your business?", was the first webinar being organized by the B4 Research Group (D°GREES). The webinar was created with a specific focus on the interests of the partnering companies in the research project, which together form the company panel in the B4 project.</p>
<p>The webinar was held twice on Thursday, October 28th – one morning session and one afternoon session. This way, many company representatives on four continents (Asia, Europe, North and South America) had a chance to attend. The webinar was divided into two sections in which Prof. Dr. Alexander Bassen, Prof. Dr. Kerstin Lopatta, and Prof. Dr. Timo Busch presented their insights on current trends in the context of sustainability reporting and sustainable finance, who all are a part of the Research Group on Sustainable Finance at the University of Hamburg.</p>
<p>In the first part, Prof. Dr. Alexander Bassen and Prof. Dr. Kerstin Lopatta presented "Recent Developments in European ESG Reporting Regulations", where they took a closer look at the EU Taxonomy, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFRD). In addition to providing a general review of these regulations, they emphasized the opportunities and challenges that companies may face in the coming years.</p>
<p>In the second part, Prof. Dr. Timo Busch presented "Impact Investing: what does it entail for firms?" Based on his current research and practitioner networks (e.g., Global Impact Investing Network), Prof. Busch presented a new typology of sustainable investments, differentiating between impact-aligned and impact-generating investments. While impact-aligned investments apply a comprehensive set of exclusion criteria and certain ESG criteria, impact-generating investments may use different strategies to create positive social and environmental change. Prof. Busch also spoke about the possible consequences that impact investing would have for firms. He emphasized, for example, that mere ESG communication and CSR reporting will no longer suffice in the face of increasing data needs. Companies will be required to report data on how capital is being used to produce positive social and environmental changes.</p>
<p>Overall, 40 company representatives attended one of two sessions, raising questions and providing useful feedback for all parties involved. Similar webinars like this one are being planned by the B4 Research Group (D°GREES) in the upcoming year.</p><p>Foto: Unsplash</p>NAGR-fakmin-29063407-production2020-12-16T23:00:00ZBrigitte Frank receives Young Climate Scientists Award<img width="293" height="165" style="float:left" src="https://assets.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/instance_assets/fakmin/29618039/20201217-733x414-eb6ff535f4b037c53c821dbb4e2f7e613a14701d.jpg" /><p>The winners of the Young Climate Scientists Award 2020 have been announced. The Centre for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) at the University of Hamburg awards the prize to particularly successful Bachelor's and Master's theses that deal with climate topics from natural science, humanities, social science, or economic perspective. The patron of the award is Katharina Fegebank, Second Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and Senator for Science, Research, and Equality.</p>
<p>First price of the Young Climate Scientists Award 2020 was awarded to Brigitte Frank, Ph.D. student and research associate in the Cluster of Excellence Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS) at the University of Hamburg. In her Master's thesis, Brigitte Frank investigated how companies can set effective climate targets and what the advantages and disadvantages of existing approaches are.</p>
<p>The award-winning theses have social relevance and not only highlight challenges in climate research, but also solutions.</p>
<p>"We need fact-based research to drive knowledge transfer and innovation in our society. This is especially true for climate research, which deals with the urgent challenges of global climate change. I warmly congratulate them on the award and sincerely hope that they will continue to support Hamburg as a central hub for climate research!" (Second Mayor Katharina Fegebank)</p>
<p>As a formal award ceremony was not possible at the time of the announcement, the CEN presented the laureates in a film portrait. Katharina Fegebank and Detlef Stammer, CEN Director and spokesperson of the CLICCS Cluster of Excellence, also feature in the film.</p>
<p>Those interested can apply for the new call for proposals starting in January 2022.</p><p>Foto: UHH/CEN</p>