Open Access

Die Erwartungen von Kundinnen-, Kunden- und Gesetzgeberseite an die ökologische Nachhaltigkeit von Unternehmen und deren Handeln wachsen stetig. Aber wie können ihnen gerade kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) im Dienstleistungsbereich gerecht werden? Und welche konkreten Maßnahmen lassen sich umsetzen, auch über gesetzliche Verpflichtungen hinaus? Wertvolle Anregungen liefern leitfadengestützte Interviews mit Geschäftsführenden und Nachhaltigkeitsbeauftragten von Dienstleistungsunternehmen, die hinsichtlich ihrer Nachhaltigkeitsaktivitäten eine Vorreiterrolle einnehmen. Berichte über entsprechende KMU sowie eine Literaturrecherche. Die nachfolgenden Ergebnisse lassen sich in neun verschiedene Handlungsfelder gliedern. Ergänzt werden sie um weitere interessante Erkenntnisse zum Umgang von KMU mit ökologischer Nachhaltigkeit.

Die Emission von Treibhausgasen verursachen externe Kosten in signifikanter Höhe, die ein Marktversagen im Bereich der Energiewirtschaft darstellen. Zudem darf nur eine gewisse Menge an THG emittiert werden, um das 1,5° Ziel der Übereinkommens von Paris einzuhalten. Dieses Restbudget soll möglichst effizient auf die Marktteilnehmer verteilt werden. Das Europäische Emissionshandelsystem versucht durch feste jährliche Obergrenzen (CAP) sowie Auktionen und Handel von Berechtigungen (Trade) die Klimaziele zu gewährleisten. Zudem soll der EU-ETS sozialverträglich gestaltet werden. Der Vortrag erklärt die Grundlagen und geht auf Vor- und Nachteile und Schwierigkeiten bei der Umsetzung ein.

In its “Fit for 55” program, the European Union (EU) integrates several instruments with the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. One of the cornerstones of the program is the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS), which imposes a levy on CO2 and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, thus internalizing external costs, restoring fair competition, incentivizing sustainable investment and efficiently distributing the remaining greenhouse gas budget through a cost-effective, market-oriented mechanism. This carbon pricing scheme, however, only affects companies which emit GHGs within the EU. Imported products thereby achieve a cost advantage over products produced within the scope of the EU-ETS, leading to competitive pressure on EU-ETS companies and the risk that they might move production facilities outside the scope of the EU-ETS (“carbon leakage”). In order to avoid carbon leakage and encourage cleaner industrial production in partner countries, the EU decided to introduce the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to put a fair price on carbon emissions from the manufacturing of products imported into the EU. The CBAM transitional phase will go into effect on October 1, 2023. Initially, it will only apply to selected industrial products and precursors whose production is particularly carbon intensive and which are deemed to have the highest potential risk of carbon leakage. Once the CBAM is fully active, all importing companies will have to declare the embedded emissions for their products and surrender the corresponding amount of CBAM certificates. It is to be expected that importing companies will strongly rely on their international suppliers to provide information on the embedded emissions. India is both an important trade partner of the EU and, because of its strong reliance on coal power plants, a heavy greenhouse gas emitter both in absolute and relative terms. Importers of products from India into the EU will therefore have to purchase a significant number of carbon allowances under the CBAM regulations. This paper explains the functional mechanism of the CBAM and identifies the product flows from India to the EU for the affected products. It describes the product groups, their importance for Indian companies as well as the future requirements, and is intended to support Indian companies that export to the European Union to prepare for the CBAM requirements both during the transition phase and once the system is fully active.

Digital transformation is changing the service landscape and confronting companies with challenges such as staff shortages and changing customer behavior. This paper examines the impact of self-service options on customer perceptions and their potential to improve a company’s resilience. The empirical study conducted for this purpose with 400 participants from different age groups, but with a focus on Generation Z, shows that almost all respondents have encountered self-service at some point, with the retail, tourism and financial sectors leading in usage. About 90% of respondents use self-service several times a month. While all generations value time savings and convenience, older participants express more concerns about errors, lack of support and privacy. The study highlights the increasing prevalence of self-service, particularly among young people, and their positive perceptions. Self-service solutions offer businesses the ability to address challenges, engage with customers and streamline processes. The positive impact extends not only to B2C processes, but also allows conclusions to be drawn about the positive influence of self-service options in internal and external B2B activities such as order management and customer support.

This chapter takes a detailed look at the developmental state model and its manifestations in regional development policies. Developmentalist ideas have been waxing and waning across periods of economic boom and bust. Recent years, however, have seen a renaissance of East Asian developmentalism – reminiscent of its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s and most notably driven by the region’s continued economic strength. The endorsement of state-led modernization, preferential policies, and close state-business relations – which underpinned Japan/Korea/China’s transformations – has also left its mark on current ODA practices in the region and beyond. East Asia’s state agencies are pushing ahead with colossal infrastructure programs – in close cooperation with commercial actors – that advance broad development goals and, at the same time, promotes national interests. Compared to Western OECD peers, Asian development cooperation tends to focus less on neoliberal and democratic principles and, instead, places greater emphasis on state-corporatist and meritocratic ideas. To what extent East Asia’s infrastructural megaprojects and connectivity corridors across Eurasia and Africa (BRI, EAI, and Partnership for Quality Infrastructure) will generate political momentum for an emergent developmental consensus remains uncertain. The jury is still out when it comes to whether and how Asian developmentalism will take center stage in global development debates. What is clear, however, is that the changing zeitgeist of a less Anglo/Euro-centric world bodes well for more heterodox and diverse ideas on development cooperation.