2030 werden Nachhaltigkeit und Unternehmenserfolg eins sein | Dr. Stefan Breit (Miele, it's OWL)

Esteemed President Bölling, ladies and gentlemen, dear guests of the strategy conference of It's OWL, I warmly welcome you to the first in-person strategy conference of It's OWL after the coronavirus pandemic. As a technology network, the term 'network' is inherent: personal encounters and exchange are crucial for our joint work in the cluster. This was missed during the pandemic. Digital formats helped bridge the gap, but we all know from daily experience that personal meetings are irreplaceable. We are therefore delighted that so many of you have followed the invitation to the strategy conference—we interpret this as the desire of everyone to come together under the flag of It's OWL again. Today we meet under the heading 'Industry Zero', a heading that describes the strategic further development of It's OWL. I find 'Industry Zero' a brilliant formulation for the idea of bringing together our existing paths of technology and digitalization (Industry 4.0) with sustainability (the Zero part). For those who have followed my communication at Miele or at It's OWL, you know one of my most important personal convictions: that by 2030, competitiveness and sustainability for industrial companies will be one and the same. Under this basic idea, we started our strategic process at It's OWL. Much has happened in the meantime: the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, inflation effects amplified by a terrible war in Europe. We must first acknowledge this before discussing economic issues—conflict with severe consequences for people in the war zone and for those fleeing. This entire situation has had significant global economic impacts with unprecedented increases in energy and material costs, and effects on consumer confidence. There is concern that, if we do not handle it properly, it will affect the competitiveness of German industry. In this context, we may ask: is sustainability just a fair-weather topic? Let me state my personal opinion: I believe sustainability is not a fair-weather topic. Two arguments: First, scarcity. Last week we held one of our It's OWL roundtables with company leadership and Campus OWL, looking at studies from the McKinsey Global Institute, for example. These studies show we are experiencing not only geostrategic and military but also macroeconomic change, comparable only with the oil price shocks of the 1970s and 1980s—a time now decades ago, so likely no one in this room experienced it as an active manager. Last time it took about a decade for macroeconomic parameters like inflation, growth, and interest rates to calm down. We, especially in Europe and particularly in Germany, will probably face a long period of resource scarcity in terms of energy, personnel, and materials. Returning to the question: what is sustainability other than thrift and resource efficiency? I think we can translate it that way. Second argument: consumers. The World Economic Forum released a new survey at its annual meeting earlier this year on consumer concerns. The result is not surprising: consumer perception is strongly shaped by sustainability, but currently overlaid by worries about conflicts, war, and personal economic situations. However, these studies also clearly show that the expectation is for sustainability to return to focus in the medium term and remain there. So today is a good time for the Industry Zero topic. Returning to It's OWL: the new strategy or the proposal for Industry Zero in connection with It's OWL has been developed, made available, and has been deepened with the working committee. Today we want to present and discuss this Industry Zero strategy to give you a sense of what it could be. One focus we will see is how we want to use our existing competencies in digitalization and, on a deeper level, AI to shape the sustainability transformation in industry. As mentioned, last week we had a roundtable on this topic to reaffirm and anchor what is being discussed in companies. Several interesting themes emerged: climate protection and emissions, particularly a holistic view of scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, are now on the agenda in all companies, though penetration varies—some are at scope 1, others at scope 2, and some already at scope 3. We also deepened the topic of circular economy and circularity. There are insights: circularity is by far the bigger challenge—a highly demanding but also highly relevant topic. The good news for this group and for a technology network is that circularity is an engineering topic. It involves product design, materials, and processes—for example, the question of disassembly of products. If you ask me how I see it, and we will discuss the strategy today, Industry Zero builds on our core competencies and is forward-looking. We realize we do not yet have everything on board to formulate Industry Zero; we need to open up new topics. But It's OWL has always been an exploration network, and we want to be that again. At the same time, we see that we are learning quickly together in science, companies, and supporting institutions. Therefore, today is a very suitable day for you to engage with Industry Zero. We have plenary presentations, specialist forums to inform about the strategy’s focus topics and discuss trends, and an exhibition in the next room with an overview of 25 ongoing It's OWL projects. For me, things become concrete when I see the projects—there is the chance to look at them. Also, in the last funding period and the one we are currently launching, we have already placed an emphasis on sustainability, so we are already in the middle of it. You are warmly invited to take a look. So our shared expectation for today is twofold: as always, the content, but especially after the pandemic, a get-together that we have greatly looked forward to. In that sense, I wish us a fascinating and inspiring day. Thank you very much.