How to increase sustainability through digitalization

To track their environmental impact, improve resource efficiency, and meet sustainability goals more effectively, more and more organizations and investors are focusing heavily on implementing and optimizing sustainability processes. Several training and study opportunities at the HECTOR School - the Technology Business School of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - explain the opportunities offered by digitalization to consume less energy, convert production processes or comply with applicable law.

Wide range of study and training opportunities

The HECTOR School's six part-time Master's degree courses impart business management expertise and the latest findings in the fields of energy technology, electromobility and the interplay between the circular economy, digitalization and sustainability. In addition, tailor-made certification courses for companies or entire company divisions offer employees the opportunity to receive further training on these topics in a compact format. At the HECTOR School, experts from industry and science teach how abstract questions can be turned into sustainability and profit targets with the help of a well thought-out digitalization strategy.

Sustainability has many facets

Dr. Stephanie Metzner, Sustainability Software Sales Leader at IBM, cites the Energy Efficiency Act and the Supply Chain Act as examples: "I think that the legal requirements are really necessary to make a difference in our world and change our behavior in terms of sustainability. The challenge for companies now is to generate savings and optimization paths as well as the necessary legally compliant documentation from their data. Cloud and AI solutions are playing an increasingly important role here."

Andreas Fritsch, expert for research and innovation at KIT and lecturer at the HECTOR School, adds: "At KIT, for example, we have developed an analysis tool that helps companies to improve their business processes with regard to sustainability with the help of information systems and modern IT and AI solutions. This knowledge flows directly into the courses at the HECTOR School."

Interdisciplinary knowledge as a key success factor

Leo Floegel, Senior Sustainability Strategy Consultant at IBM and graduate of the part-time Master's degree course in Information Systems Engineering & Management, explains the career opportunities that arise from this: "The content of the HECTOR School is located at the interface of technology, strategy and management. And if you combine this with sustainability expertise, you can either work as a sustainability strategy consultant, as I do, or take up positions that deal with the technical or financial perspectives of sustainability."

One example of urgently needed technical innovations is the area of mobility in order to make it more sustainable. Sascha Ott, Managing Director of the Institute for Product Development at KIT and lecturer at the HECTOR School, says: "On the one hand, customer acceptance of new drive systems and mobility solutions is an important factor. On the other hand, repair, retrofitting and recycling options also play a major role in how sustainable a new product actually is." Using complex metaverse concepts, the researchers are able to map socio-economic, infrastructural and technical aspects that go far beyond standard product development. All HECTOR School participants benefit from the direct transfer of such cutting-edge KIT research projects into the various teaching units.

Taking advantage of opportunities through further education

Companies benefit from the HECTOR School's extensive range of further education and training courses in several ways: the content helps to transform existing business models into a sustainable future and to implement new project ideas in a resource-saving manner. A holistic approach that incorporates climate and environmental issues into corporate practice also makes companies more attractive to employees and investors. The HECTOR School provides the necessary know-how to achieve these goals.