Sustainable transformation in society and the economy

This research area of the NCT-NIT is directly concerned with socio-ecological sustainability, and specifically with transformation in the social and organisational context. On 11 December 2019, the European Green Deal was announced, which consists of a comprehensive action plan for unprecedently major sustainability transition of the European Union. Among other things, it contains the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 as well as an economic restructuring towards a circular economy.

This requires an unprecedented structural transformation of both the economy and society within one generation. To achieve this goal multiple new laws and regulations are being developed like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), or the CO2 Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Additionally, points like public procurement are increasingly leveraged to achieve environmental and social goals.

All of these processes do not only pose increasing challenges to companies, but also to public organisations like municipalities and stakeholders in civil society, who are also essential for successfully achieving comprehensive sustainability transformations. Within sustainability and transformation research, therefore, the focus is not only on companies and firms but also on alternative economic organisational forms such as cooperatives, collectives, grass-roots movements and other organisational forms with a socio-ecological orientation and objective. The pressure to change towards sustainable transformation requires a holistic view of the types of human organisational forms, which requires a multidisciplinary academic discussion.

Projects

• WohlLB on the living situation of low-income households in Nuremberg
• The Ohm’s common good balance sheet
• Fair toys
• Evaluation in the SDGs go local project