HSG Focus addresses the environment

19 February 2020. The bushfires that have been raging for months in Australia constitute a current sorry example of humankind’s ambivalent relationship with the environment: the world that surrounds us is nature, threatened and threatening all at once.

Protection and exploitation

Human beings have both exploitation interests – for they must tame and cultivate nature – and protective interests – for we do not have a planet B as yet. In the public discourse, environmental protection and climate change are increasingly playing an important role, not least thanks to movements such as “Fridays for Future”. In our dossier, we shed light on the environment issue from various perspectives.

Climate change and sustainability

In the video interview Judith Walls, Professor of Sustainability Management (IWÖ-HSG), explains why companies should take climate change seriously, too. Commitment in the field of sustainability does not only have a positive impact on a company’s reputation but also on its economic performance. In the COALSTAKE project, Adrian Rinscheid from IWÖ-HSG analyses coal policy in Australia, Canada, Germany and Japan together with Aya Kachi from the University of Basel.

Environmental law, aviation and value creation chains

Peter Hettich, Professor of Public Law, speaks about current challenges in Swiss environmental law and the principle of sustainability, according to which economic, social and ecological interests should be balanced out. One important example is the tourist industry, which is an important economic sector on a global scale. Adjunct Professor Christian Laesser assumes that demand will further increase in spite of the downsides of travelling. Dr. Andreas Wittmer deals with one specific downside – the impact of aviation on the environment. He answers the questions as to how CO2 emissions can be reduced, whether environmental levies make sense and which airlines are most environmentally friendly. Prof. Wolfgang Stölzle, Director at the Institute of Supply Chain Management, points out the blind spots of the sustainability discourse, for this is not solely about products themselves but also about the increasingly complex value creation networks.

The next issue of HSG Focus will appear in May 2020.

Image: Adobe Stock / Milton Oswald