Research & Teaching: Turning knowledge into action.
The ZNU at Witten/Herdecke University is an application-oriented research institute. The focus is on the practicable measurement of sustainability at company and product level.
From theory into practice.
Research at the ZNU is application- and solution-oriented. Our focus is on the promotion of sustainable corporate management and sustainability-oriented action, both within organizations and along value chains, and the practice-oriented research approach is also promoted through close cooperation with companies - for example in the context of transdisciplinary research projects in which sustainability issues are examined and answered through cooperation between theory and practice. Sustainability is always understood as a holistic triad between environmental, economic and social issues.
Current research focuses
The ZNU researches theoretical and practical approaches to sustainable corporate management and the sustainable design of value chains in the food industry.
Sustainable Corporate Management
The ZNU conducts intensive research into sustainable Leadership. Our particular focus is on the transparent measurability and successful implementation of sustainable development in companies and along their value chains. This also includes the topics of sustainability reporting, change management, sustainable leadership, as well as innovation and digitalization in the field of sustainability. Numerous ongoing and completed projects contribute to this line of research (see list below).
We regularly record the current status of sustainability orientation in the retail and consumer goods industry in our study “Sustainability in the FMCG sector”. This cooperative study is produced in collaboration with Lebensmittel Zeitung.
Biodiversity management
Im Rahmen des transdisziplinären Forschungsprojekts BioVal (Biodiversity Valuing and Valuation), entwickelt das ZNU derzeit Lösungen zur Verringerung der negativen Auswirkungen auf Biodiversität durch Lebensmittel entlang ihres Lebenswegs. Das Projekt ist vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung gefördert und wird in Zusammenarbeit mit der Uni Augsburg, der TU Berlin sowie den drei Unternehmen FRoSTA, Seeberger und Ritter Sport durchgeführt.
Unter anderem wurden in dem Projekt Empfehlungen zur erfolgreichen Integration von Biodiversität in Managementsysteme und konkrete Instrumente für die Steigerung von Biodiversität entlang von Produktlebenszyklen entwickelt. Die Ergebnisse wurden in dem „Praxishandbuch zu Biodiversitätsmanagement in der Lebensmittelwirtschaft“ zusammengetragen. Zudem wurden die Projektergebnisse in verschiedenen wissenschaftlichen Studien aufgegriffen. Das Handbuch und ausgewählte Studien finden Sie im Downloadbereich.
Sustainability in the spice industry
The ZNU is also researching sustainability solutions for the spice industry - a project funded by the RAPS Foundation. As part of this research project, for example, a “sustainability clustering of spices” was carried out, which was used to identify ways and strategies for more sustainable supply chains in the spice sector. Based on a literature review, spices were clustered according to various characteristics, challenges for sustainable sourcing were identified and proposed solutions for spice groups were developed. In addition, a series of workshops on sustainability in the spice sector was recently held. Participants included actors from the spice industry such as representatives from manufacturing companies, trading companies, associations, research institutions and non-governmental organizations. Sustainability challenges for the spice industry were collected, examples of successful entrepreneurial and scientific solutions to these challenges were presented and visions and goals for the spice industry were discussed and defined. The specific topics were based on the planetary boundaries, currently the most important ecological challenges worldwide.
Overview of the ZNU research projects
Feasibility study biosphere region - Berchtesgadener Land as an alpine quality and sustainability region (2018-2019), Berchtesgadener Land Economic Development Agency
Meat of the future: Sustainable protein supply in Germany (early phase) (2017-2018), BMBF
Food waste data for more sustainability in the food industry (LeDaNa) (2012 – 2015)
Sharing and communicating knowledge.
The ZNU's expertise is incorporated into courses and helps to qualify students at Witten/Herdecke University in the field of sustainability. In addition to the faculty-internal cooperation in various courses, the ZNU also offers additional lectures on an ongoing basis. The following courses, among others, have been established.
Previous courses
Sustainable Leadership
As part of the MBA, the ZNU offers the “Sustainable Leadership” course once a year. It is aimed at interested parties from business and science who want to develop into a “Sustainable Leader” or “Change Agent” in order to be able to initiate and implement new initiatives, projects and change processes in their organizations. An interdisciplinary group of around 15 participants will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with other leaders.
The aim of the seminar is to develop personal potential as a leader and innovator in order to successfully implement a passion for sustainability in your own organization. This training focuses on the individual with their strengths and leadership potential. Participants reflect on their own leadership skills in order to become aware of their strengths and make them usable in everyday project work in the long term and in a targeted manner.
Sustainable Business
The ZNU teaches the course “Sustainable Management” for Bachelor's degree courses in the Faculty of Business and Society. This course teaches how companies can implement social, ecological and economic concerns and thus operate in a measurably more sustainable manner. The focus is on key skills for managing sustainability in companies.
The seminar combines a practice-based introduction to the “ZNU Standard for Sustainable Management” used by many companies with evidence-based findings on the management of organizational change. The event uses scientific findings from the fields of organizational change and organizational behavior and discusses the importance of employee motivation, skills and corporate culture. Talks and discussions with practitioners will shed light on sustainable management as a change process and the interplay between theory and practice.
Sustainability Management
As part of the MBA, the ZNU offers the course “Sustainability Management” once a year. It is aimed at interested parties from business and academia who wish to acquire basic knowledge of sustainability management. In addition to technical skills on the integration of sustainability issues into existing strategies and processes, success factors and stumbling blocks in sustainability management are taught from the interplay of theory and practice. In addition, methodological skills are trained (e.g. stakeholder analysis or development of a materiality matrix) and skills for (holistic) measurement and internal and external communication are taught.
You would like to become a research partner?
If you are interested in a joint research project or have any questions about our current research and courses, please get in touch.
- Dr. Verena Timmer
- Head of ZNU-Research
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Verena.Timmer@uni-wh.de