Review of the first Sustainability Impact Summit - Make it measurable, show impact!
On September 25, 2024, the first specialist conference as part of the SIAK sustainability platform took place at the Fraunhofer IESE in Kaiserslautern. The "Sustainability Impact Summit", initiated as part of the second phase of the Open Digitalization Alliance Palatinate (OD-Pfalz) transfer project, was held under the motto "Making measurable, showing impact". The aim of the summit was to bring together the topics of sustainability and digital transformation and to focus on the question of impact and impact measurement.
After the opening by Steffen Hess, Division Head Digital Innovation & Smart City of our co-organizer Fraunhofer IESE, and Prof. Dr. Katharina Spraul, Professor of Sustainability Management at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, the summit kicked off with three inspiring keynotes.
With her classification of various terms (output, outcome and impact), Franka Ismer, Senior Program Manager at PHINEO Startups, first introduced impact orientation as the foundation for startups and the motto of the event. She thus gave an overview of the work and objectives of PHINEO Startups towards increasing positive impact.
In the short presentation by Dario Peter, Head of Programme Data & IT Systems (Interim), we were able to gain deeper insights into the measurement of various indicators and the reporting of the international non-profit organization "SOS Children's Villages International". Supported by a specially developed digital tool, both global and regional data collection is supported, making the positive impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) measurable in the long term.
In the third keynote speech by Jens Harig, Managing Director, ESIIS GmbH, around 50 participants were able to learn more about sustainability reporting and various standards, ratings and benchmarks, as well as receive a final assessment of the opportunities and challenges of reporting. However, the conclusion was that "sustainability is an opportunity for transformation and competitive strength"
A particular highlight of the event was the interactive fishbowl discussion. Moderated by Prof. Dr. Katharina Spraul, the experts Dr. Amyn Vogel, Impact Measurement and Valuation Lab, LMU Munich, Franka Ismer, Phineo Startups and Heidi Fuhr, Sustainability Manager of the Rhineland-Palatinate Savings Banks Association, discussed key issues surrounding the definition and measurement of social and ecological impact together with the audience. The discussion topics were looked at from different perspectives.
Among other things, Heidi Fuhr addressed the question of how impact measurement in the area of sustainability can influence investment decisions. She emphasized that investors are increasingly paying attention to sustainable business models, as these are more future-proof. Transparent impact measurement, supported by objective criteria and ratings, could be crucial here in order to create trust among investors and make sustainable initiatives visible.
Dr. Amyn Vogel highlighted the challenges of clearly measuring social impact. It is often difficult to prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship, as many different influences affect the impact. He recommended using other, complementary methods to capture unintended or indirect effects that often go unnoticed in standardized measurements.
Franka Ismer emphasized the importance of clearly defining objectives in order to select the appropriate methods for measuring impact. When asked how organizations can implement this, she explained that careful goal alignment and the involvement of relevant stakeholders are crucial in order to develop meaningful indicators for each target group.
The empty chair in the fishbowl also provided space for the entrepreneurial perspective. For example, Alexander David, co-founder of the start-up Greenable, highlighted his view of the challenges of data availability in an extended supply chain duty of care and a necessary mindset shift towards impact-oriented business and linked this to his practical experience. Tanja Reilly, Senior Strategic Business Development Manager at EcoVadis, gave a digital keynote speech on "Sustainability as a competitive advantage". She not only emphasized the advantages of sustainable business strategies in terms of better crisis and change management and thus greater resilience, but also recommended collecting and evaluating data as part of sustainability reporting in order to illustrate possible positive effects or derive important adjustments if necessary.
Mutual learning, support and networking were another important conclusion of Tanja Reilly's presentation.
The Gallery Walk, organized and coordinated by Bernhard Lorig, Gründungsbüro RPTU & HS Kaiserslautern, provided the first opportunity for networking and mutual exchange.
The exhibition included posters from:
- HORNBACH on CO2 reduction through the modernization of the company car directive
- L'Oréal on measuring biodiversity on company premises
- ProSocialBusiness on the dependence of impact measurement on project budgets
The subsequent practice-oriented workshops, led by Iliyana Madina and Emily Tapper, Fraunhofer IMW, and Christian Pils, ESIIS GmbH, offered participants the opportunity to actively engage with the methods of impact measurement.
In the first workshop, participants were given a guide to working on and with Fraunhofer IMW's KTT Impact Canvas and then used the canvas to plan their own impact- and goal-oriented project in fast-forward.
In the second workshop, the participants learned more from the ESIIS experts about the development of relevant KPIs for measuring sustainability in companies as well as the challenges of impact measurement and the implementation of sustainability in the supply chain and dealing with stakeholder expectations.
Two laboratory tours by Matthias Klein-Schlößl, Fraunhofer ITWM, provided insights into sustainable energy supply for electricity, heat and mobility and how this can be made measurable and controllable.
The results of a survey conducted in the run-up to the Sustainability Impact Summit show the diversity of the audience attending the event. Participants from universities, companies, non-profit organizations and research institutions made up the majority of guests, supplemented by representatives from start-up support, media and financial institutions. With various participants from different industries, the summit offered the opportunity for interdisciplinary networking, the exchange of diverse perspectives and fresh impetus.
The participants' levels of experience in the area of impact measurement were just as varied as the industries. While around 29% were coming across the topic for the first time, a further 29% had already taken their first steps and were specifically looking for impetus and practical suggestions. Around 6% of participants were already deeply rooted in the subject and were able to present the first results of their own impact measurements, whereas for 14%, impact measurement is already an integral part of their everyday work.
In terms of expectations and wishes for the event, the focus was on establishing new contacts and networks. Many participants also hoped for practical suggestions as well as a deeper understanding and structural insights into impact measurement methods. All in all, the first Sustainability Impact Summit brought together a wide variety of stakeholders with very different expectations and requirements to exchange ideas on the topic of impact measurement.
All presentations by the keynote speakers, workshop materials, posters from the gallery walk and short interviews with individual experts from the conference recorded during the event will be made available on the OpenOlat platform in a specially created course:
Many thanks to all experts and participants, the Fraunhofer IESE and the Science and Innovation Alliance Kaiserlautern for helping to organize the first "Sustainability Impact Summit" and the ZukunftsRegion Westpfalz e.V. for their financial support.
