Working group discusses market economy paradigm – “Pioneers of sustainability” campaign planned – CSE standard updated
Bad Sooden-Allendorf – Sufficiency must be included as a criterion in sustainable business. Based on this premise, the “Living Sustainability” working group is discussing ways of integrating the quality of sufficiency into entrepreneurial activity – and recording it using the CSE standard. A joint “Pioneers of Sustainability” campaign is planned to establish the standard and showcase their innovations. The “Living Sustainability” working group – consisting of the companies Aries Umweltprodukte, Börlind GmbH, Farfalla Essentials AG, Botanica GmbH, EcoControl GmbH and the Gesellschaft für angewandte Wirtschaftsethik (GfaW) – meets annually to update the Certified Sustainable Economics Standard (CSE) in order to meet the requirements for dynamic further development. This was the case again this year at BioFach/Vivaness. With the sustainability factor of sufficiency, the working group is addressing a very sensitive topic from a business perspective. Under market economy conditions, growth and sufficiency contradict each other at first glance. In contrast to the concept of efficiency as the previous measure of economic development, which describes the cost-benefit ratio for a constant result, sufficiency focuses on the desired effects. This requires a change in the conventional way of thinking. In the area of entrepreneurial action, there has so far been a lack of tangible examples that could resolve the dilemma of competitiveness versus sufficiency. This is where the “pioneers of sustainability” want to start with their open questions: Is this supposed contradiction inevitable? Under what conditions and through what measures can the social benefits of sufficiency become tangible and be reflected in a quality standard? “Against the backdrop of increasing resource consumption, rebound effects and other consequences of the growth paradigm, it is essential for sustainably operating companies to address sufficiency,” explains working group spokesperson Sophie von Lilienfeld-Toal.
As a certification system for sustainable corporate management, CSE is an important distinction, especially for manufacturers of natural cosmetics and natural products, because the companies involved to date have been pioneers in sustainability and at the same time set proven, practical, experience-oriented and therefore dynamic standards. The three dimensions of sustainability are taken into account: ecology, social issues and economy.