ESCP STAR Center: Two Years of Progress, Impact, and Hope for Sustainable Business

The first year was quite naturally dedicated to fundraising. While the mission was clear, the path towards reaching the center’s goals was not straightforward and needed an entrepreneurial approach. Initiatives were adopted, tested, and in some cases, abandoned, while in other cases - extended into numerous other reiterations. For instance, the STARbowl format has seen a real expansion, with 4 events taking place per quarter, the first one being dedicated to ESG & Business Model Innovation involving entirely internal stakeholders as facilitators; the second one dealing with the topic of Impact Business Models & Measurement, done in collaboration with the Borderstep Institute; the third event looking into Regenerative Business Practices, done together with Initiative Regenerative Marktwirtschaft; and the last one becoming a platform of exchange on issues around Digitalisation for Sustainability, done in partnership with Centre for Sustainable Business of King’s College.

The "STAR-branded" STARbowl event has seen a steady number of 40-50 participants

The STARbowl made use of a fishbowl discussion format to create an engaging space for exchange and learning, facilitated by inputs from academic research, small and large businesses, and enriched by the various perspectives our guests and participants brought with them. Through this format, we have managed to build a momentum inside the ESCP Sustainability ecosystem, grow our community of sustainability practitioners, and showcase best practices for the benefit of practical implementation and inspiration of all. The feedback our guest gave us was always extremely positive, but after the last event we have decided to upgrade the STARbowl format to an option for corporate sponsorship, as initial resources ran out and excellent work has the right to be paid.

The first STARstudy has been co-sponsored by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, under the academic supervision of the STAR founder Prof. Florian Lüdeke-Freund. The study looked at the extent to which German businesses achieved transformation of business models and the correlation such transformations had with the sustainability transformation. The outcome of this representative to the German economy study was clear: German businesses have been transforming, and the more they have, the more they have incorporated sustainability into the core of value creation. The study was presented at the Bertelsmann Stiftung by the ESCP STAR team, featuring sustainability experts such as Maja Göpel, business practitioners from the German industry, and policy makers. The study has had an extensive media coverage and has broken records on number of downloads and printed copies given out. The subsequent follow-up study is currently discussed.

In terms of new educational formats, we have tried our hand at two different projects: “Young Leaders in Sustainability” done in collaboration with an Executive Search consultancy Egon Zehnder, and the other, “Sustainability Transformation Mindsets Course” accomplished very promising market research but has failed to attract sufficient funding for its production. More recently, an Executive Education Open Program on “ESG and Sustainability for Innovation Leaders”, created by the ESCP STAR Founder Prof. Florian Lüdeke-Freund, has been re-launched in collaboration with the STAR, where during 3 days (May 14-16), practitioners come in touch with ideas, tools, techniques, and methods on how to leverage ESG for innovation, creation of competitive advantage, and ensuring long-term success of businesses.

While we find ourselves now in times of an economic crisis, political turmoil, and confusing national and international leadership messages when it comes to Sustainability topics, we at the ESCP STAR are staying hopeful and know that Sustainability is here to stay. The core principle behind Sustainability as a concept is ensuring that our economic activity, be it business practice or patterns of consumption, arguably two sides of the same coin, are done in such a way that does not compromise our ability to meaningfully engage in these activities in the future. We foresee a time in the near future where sustainable business practice is not an external activity at a cost center of an organisation, but a primal driving force behind successful market leadership, creating value for all stakeholders in the ecosystem and not just a small group of a privileged few who seem mistaken about their roles and responsibilities, blinded by hectically chasing short-term goals without considering a “bigger picture”. The signs are there for those who are willing to look and know how to read them, considering facts around sustainability initiatives in China, India, and some places in the so-called Western world.