At the end of January 2022, the Bavarian Economy for the Common Good (ECG) member companies gathered online as part of the third annual Bavarian “Forum Unternehmen”, to exchange information and to network, but also to honor those companies, that had published a Common Good Balance Sheet during the previous year. The event opened with the appreciation of 44 organizations based in Bavaria for their publication of the Balance Sheet during the last year.
Johannes Ehrnsperger, manager of Neumarkter Lammsbräu, held a keynote about the “Necessity of Corporate Governance for the Common Good” followed by lively interviews with the representatives of the honored ECG companies. The over one hundred participants at this event gathered valuable insight and first-hand impressions of the motivation to draw up a Common Good Balance Sheet.
The second panel discussion in the evening provided the audience with exciting contributions and controversial discussions around the topic: “From end to means: Is money becoming the essential lever for a climate-neutral economy?” The keynote speaker Kristina Jeromin, Managing Director of the Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster in Germany and Deputy Chair of the Sustainable Finance Advisory Council of the German Federal Government (August 2019 to March 2021) said: “the transformation of the economic system in order to achieve the goals defined by the Paris Agreement, requires the appropriate innovation and support from the regulatory framework.” In this regard, she considers the political regulators to be responsible to transform the economy in line with the climate goals.
The following day, more than 50 ECG member companies met again to network and exchange ideas among themselves. Ten themes related to the Common Good Balance Sheet were highlighted during break-out sessions. In each of these sessions, one company presented its measures on the topic, which were then discussed by all participants. In this way, the entrepreneurs not only got to know each other better, but were also able to take away ideas for their own further development and cooperation.
Videos of the Appreciation and Debate are available in German.
