Twin Transformation Summit 2025 - Leveraging synergies, accelerating change

On 4 December 2025, the Twin Transformation Summit took place as a three-hour online event and brought together representatives from academia, business practice, consulting and students to shed light on the interplay between Digitalization and sustainability from different perspectives. Organized by the Chair of Business Studies and Economics, in particular Sustainability Management, at the department of Business Studies and Economics at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau and embedded in the activities of the Open Digitalization Alliance Palatinate II, the summit built on the content of the previous year's Sustainability Impact Summit and at the same time set new accents with a clear focus on the so-called Twin Transformation. The event also served as a specialist conference for the Sustainability Platform of the Science and Innovation Alliance Kaiserslautern e.V. (SIAK).

The event was opened by Prof. Dr.Katharina Spraul(RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau), who set out the thematic framework in her welcoming address. She made it clear that the digital transformation does not automatically lead to greater sustainability, but that it requires conscious design in order to harmonize ecological, social and economic goals. Especially against the background of increasing energy consumption due to Digitalization and AI, it is necessary to systematically link digital innovations with sustainability goals and to think in an interdisciplinary way. Another host was the SIAK - shouldn't Mr. Apfel be mentioned here as co-spokesperson for the SIAK's sustainability platform?

Dr.Jens Lehnen (valantic GmbH) and Holger Feist (The Nunatak Group GmbH) then opened the content-related part with a dialogical impulse. From a consulting perspective, they showed where companies currently stand in the Twin Transformation and what challenges arise in practical implementation. Key topics were the handling of data, the question of organizational maturity levels and the realization that sustainability is often still strongly thought of from a reporting and regulatory perspective. At the same time, it was emphasized that digital technologies - such as data-based analyses or AI-supported decision support - offer enormous potential to make sustainability not only measurable but also strategically usable. The observation that comparison with competitors often triggers new dynamics and that sustainability is therefore increasingly perceived as a strategic competitive factor was particularly striking.

These considerations were explored in greater depth in the subsequent scientific presentation by Dr.Eddy Groen (IREB & Fraunhofer IESE). Using current study results from the field of software and system development, he showed that sustainability has so far only been insufficiently integrated into digital development processes. Although there is a growing awareness of the problem, there is often a lack of clear responsibilities, standardized procedures and corresponding skills. The point that sustainability must be considered early on in digital systems was particularly impressive, as subsequent adjustments only have a limited effect. The impulse thus built an important bridge between technical design and corporate responsibility.

In the subsequent panel, moderated by Prof. Dr.Katharina Spraulthese perspectives came together. Alongside Dr.Jens Lehnen, Holger Feist and Eddy Groen, Josef Apfel (FUCHS LUBRICANTS GERMANY GmbH) contributed insights from industrial practice, while Prof. Dr. Tanja Rabl (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau) added the research-related perspective. The discussion focused on the ESG dimensions of how digitalization can contribute to increasing energy efficiency, transparency and decision-making quality, but also on the risks that arise if technological developments are not accompanied by cultural change. The role of employees was discussed in particular detail: Sustainable transformation, according to the findings of research by Prof. Dr. Tanja Rablcan only succeed if people are actively involved, empowered and intrinsically motivated. At the same time, the current regulatory uncertainty - for example in the context of the omnibus discussion at EU level - was critically reflected upon. Several voices emphasized that although a reduction in reporting obligations could provide relief, sustainability should not be reduced to minimum regulatory requirements.

After a short break, the breakout sessions provided space for in-depth discussions. In the session "Twin Transformation - Bridging the gap between disciplines" Carolin Langhauser (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau) and Dr.Eddy Groen showed how challenging, but at the same time profitable, interdisciplinary collaboration can be. The focus was on the question of how different specialist logics - for example from Business Studies and Economics, Computer Science or Engineering - can be combined to develop sustainable digital solutions. The discussion made it clear that twin transformation requires not only technological but also communicative translation work.

At the same time Angelina Horbach(RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau) provided concrete insights into the productive use of AI systems such as ChatGPT in the workshop "Prompt Engineering in practical application". Practical examples were used to show how targeted prompts can be used to achieve efficiency gains, support creative processes and systematically address sustainability issues. There was also critical reflection on the fact that AI should be seen as an assistance system and cannot replace human assessment and responsibility.

The event concluded with a joint summary in which key findings were summarized once again. The Twin Transformation Summit 2025 made it clear that Digitalization and sustainability are not separate transformation paths, but can reinforce each other - provided they are consciously designed together. Particular emphasis was placed on the importance of data, interdisciplinary exchange, organizational culture and the active involvement of employees. With its open, dialog-oriented format and the close integration of practice and science, the summit thus sent a strong signal for the further development of the twin transformation and provided numerous impulses for future research, teaching and business practice.