Transformation Guide Sustainability & Common Good

* 1 PDF guide
* 33 self-study videos
* 24 reflection questions

* 36 worksheets
* 1 pinch of urgency
* Add as desired: Joy, passion, commitment

How can small and medium-sized enterprises and their consultants systematically work towards greater sustainability?
The "Transformation Guide Sustainability & Common Good" shows one way forward. It was developed by the non-profit foundation Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie NRW with financial support from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the European Social Fund (ESF) as part of the "AGIL – Akademie Gemeinwohl im ländlichen Raum" project.
Of course, the recipe may also be prepared outside NRW and also by municipal companies).

How it works

1. Guide Here for zero euros.
(simply enter your name and e-mail address and request the guide).

2. Decide: Should the guide be read across or worked through linearly? Is it about selective learning or a systematic transformation process? Both are fine and feasible!

3. Work through the "Input" chapter for a brief overview of sustainable development, the role of the economy and the core ideas of the Economy for the Common Good

4. Use the "Inspiration" chapter to reflect on various aspects of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals with the help of 20 transformation impulses and develop initial ideas for improvement within the company.

5. Take the "Innovation" chapter as an opportunity to form a team and develop a coherent transformation concept from the previous findings using tried-and-tested templates

6. Gladly customize everything individually

7. Achieve "impact" for more sustainability and inspire others to do the same!


Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from
Christian Einsiedel and Christoph Harrach
from the Foundation for the Economy for the Common Good NRW

Common Good Economy Quick Test

* Interest in public welfare-oriented WIRtschaften
* Research in the sphere of activity and own company
* Honesty and willingness to change

* GWÖ quick test (see link below)

"Our current economic system is upside down. Money has become a self-purpose instead of a means to what really matters: a good life for all."
Christian Felber, author of the book "Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie" and co-initiator of the Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie movement
Are you also wondering how you can make your company fairer and more sustainable? Then you might be interested in the Common Good Economy! Get to know the economic model and its tools:

The Common Good Economy (GWÖ)
...is - as the name suggests - an alternative, common good-oriented economic model that promotes a change in the value system. Companies of any legal form can have their balance sheets drawn up and their success measured against values oriented toward the common good. The common good matrix includes values such as "human dignity," "transparency and co-decision," and "solidarity and justice. These values can be measured by balancing them with the contact groups - e.g., "Customers & Co-enterprises," "Suppliers," and "Social Environment." And the financial health of an organization is also an important criterion here.
More than 1,000 companies have already decided to do business for the common good.

Tip
To get to grips with this complex topic: Why not take the GWÖ quick test, for a first overview?
First step with the GWÖ quick test
To get started, you can also start with a GWÖ quick test - with or without consulting. Afterwards you can decide if further steps are an option for your organization!
Here you can find the quick test.

If, after the quick test, you have acquired a taste for it and would like to take further steps towards becoming a GWÖ-certified company, there are many advantages:
+ You will learn what contribution you are already making to the common good
+ You discover further potentials of your company, how you can manage and develop more sustainably
+ Accompaniment by GWÖ-Consultants:inside
+ with the common good report you can publicly show and make transparent which values your organization represents, this creates trust with all partners and customers.
+ The preparation of the report strengthens the vision and concept of your organization, through this sharpening of vision new ideas and input for the design of new products and services are created

The balancing can take place on one's own, with advice from GWÖ consultants or in an accompanied group of several organizations. It is a big and important step, so here is a quick test to get you started...
On the page ecogood.org you will find all information about GWÖ, consulting and balancing.
And of course there are other models and approaches to strengthen the common good in the company: e.g. fair procurement, the doughnut economy, needs-based salaries and much more.


Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from Maria Seeger

Economic impetus in 2024

In 2024, we will continue our series of seminars under the title "WIRtschafts-Impulse". In the online workshops, we want to shed light on exciting topics, tools and systemic approaches that promote the WE in business. WIRtschafts-Impulse is aimed at anyone who wants to help shape change in the world of work. 90 minutes via Zoom.

The topics

Balance between structure and creative chaos // Let’s talk about money // Appreciative feedback // Making decisions – appreciative and effective // Burning without burning out


*** 25 . J A N U A R - APPRECIATIVE FEEDBACK ***
16:00 – 17:30
A healthy feedback culture is the key to a learning organization that wants to recognize mistakes early on and draw the right keys from them. How can this work? What ingredients are needed for appreciative cooperation in a performance-oriented world?

*** 2 0 . F E B R U A R - BURNING WITHOUT BURNING OUT ***
16:00 – 17:30
Recent surveys show that many people are dissatisfied with their jobs and plan to look for a new job in the next twelve months. The reasons given for this are: Burnout, dissatisfaction and lack of flexibility. How can I burn for my work without burning out? How do I find satisfaction at work? These are the questions we want to explore here.

Other impulse topics
(dates to follow)


* Making decisions - appreciatively and effectively
Making decisions in groups is often perceived as laborious. How do we decide as a group? Are there „losers“ and „winners“ or „alibi decisions“? We have made very good experiences with a method from the environment of sociocracy, and would like to share them with you.

* Balance between structure and creative chaos
Which organizational & communication structures suit us or me? "Older" organizations often struggle with (too) much grown structure, "young" growing organizations want to find a suitable balance between chaos and "over-structuring".

* Let’s talk about money
Earning money per se is not a bad thing! But how we handle money in our organization says a lot about our work culture and values. Who decides what? What is my responsibility? When money is everyone's business, it can become a tool to shape the organization we want to be tomorrow.



Balance menu - the menu to the WIRtschafts-Impuls #1

With the theme "Balance between structure and chaos" we started our WIRtschafts-Impuls series. For this we have created a BALANCE MENU. Take a look and enjoy it!

We look forward to the next impulses with you!

Do you feel like contributing to a fairer ECONOMY? Then this is the right "menu" for you!
Just print it out and pick the right recipe, oooooooor GIVE IT AWAY!
Feel free to report your experience, or your recipe idea.
Have fun with re-cooking and giving away!




Wandel-Menü - the WIRtschaft as a guest of sneep e.V.

In June we were part of the conference of the student network sneep e.V. - student network for ethics in economics and practice. For this we created a CHANGE MENU!!! Have a look and enjoy it!

In addition, some great new recipes were created at this meeting. You can find them in our recipe collection.

Do you feel like contributing to a fairer ECONOMY? Then this is the right "menu" for you!
Just print it out and pick the right recipe, oooooooor GIVE IT AWAY!
Feel free to report your experience, or your recipe idea!
Have fun with re-cooking and giving away!




Check-In-Check-Out - Understanding and Reflection in the Team

* Colleagues:inside
* regular team meetings
* Willingness for personal exchange
* Coordinator:in & Moderator:in

"How are my colleagues doing?" - at the latest since home offices have become the norm, this question often remains unanswered, but even in the stressful daily office routine there is sometimes no time for an open conversation. It can be liberating and connecting to talk about private things. There should also be a space for talking about excessive demands, stress or feelings of success, which can strengthen your work and your team: Check-in and check-out meetings could provide this space:

Schedule short weekly meetings with your team for an open exchange (e.g., Mondays - check-in - and Thursday or Friday mornings - check-out).

Inspiration for the check-in meeting
"How do you start the week?"
"What's on your mind right now (both personally and professionally)?"
"What do you have in mind or what do you want to get done?"
Actively give space to name overstrain and overload and possibly ask for support.

Inspiration for the check out meeting
"How did the week go for you?"
"How do you start the weekend?"
"What did you not get done or accomplish this week?"
"What can go better next week?"

TIP
Check out this New Narrative article for more on check-ins, check-outs, and tips for improving meetings:
https://www.neuenarrative.de/magazin/frag-fred-grundregeln-fuer-bessere-meetings/


Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from Alex & Regina from sneep e. V. - student network for ethics in economics and practice

Electricity, but sexy! - Provider change

* Green electricity provider for the company site
* Consent of decision maker:in

The extraction of fossil fuels needed for conventional energy production is harmful to the climate, limited, dangerous and costs living space. Coal, oil, gas and uranium are therefore not sustainable resources for power supply.
You know all that??? Then quickly change your electricity provider, if you haven't already done so 🙂 It's quick (depending on the size of your company, of course), depending on the provider, you will also be supported in the change and you will contribute a part to the energy transition. This is how it works:

1. find a suitable electricity provider at https://wirklich-gruen.de/ and find out from the green electricity provider about tariffs and what steps are necessary to switch.

2. if necessary, approach the decision-makers with an initial cost estimate, a rough implementation plan and the pro-arguments.

3. change electricity supplier and...

4. ...let's celebrate! 🙂


Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from Pia & Janina from sneep e.V. - student network for ethics in economics and practice

For the cigarette after - Ballot Bins

* Smoking area(s)
* Coordination with building cleaning about emptying the boxes.
* Question collection tool
* financial resources (350-650€ per ballot bin)


Cigarette butts are among the most commonly discarded items. Around 80% of smoked cigarettes worldwide are disposed of improperly. This is where the Ballot Bins come in with their nudging approach to behavior change, as they offer a fun incentive for environmentally friendly disposal of butts.

In the innovative ashtray boxes can be given a question with two answers to vote. Employees show their opinion by putting their cigarette butt in the slots below their preferred answer. The litter stacks in two columns behind the clear glass front, showing which answer is more popular. The questions can be easily changed by the owner(s) of the Ballot Bin. They can be funny, topical, serious or provocative. The option to ask questions also provides an effortless way to solicit opinions from employees (e.g., "would you like more vegan options in the cafeteria"), as well as educate them (e.g., "did you know that one discarded butt pollutes up to 60 liters of water?").

Step 1: Find out about providers:inside and prices (e.g. http://www.ballotbin.de/ or kippster.com)

Step 2: Create a onepager / PPT slide with info and arguments (many can already be found in this recipe :))

Step 3: Involve facility management and a decision maker.

Step 4: Clarify issues of procurement, location, care and emptying. (Due to the large capacity of the bins, emptying is not necessary every week and at the same time cigarette butts are quasi automatically already separated from other waste materials. This facilitates disposal).

Step 5: Involve the employees and sensitize them to the topic. It is a good idea, for example, to involve employees in the process of finding questions! Tickle out their creative ideas!

Step 6: Order containers, place them and enjoy less pollution from cigarette butts!

Step 7: Regularly inform employees about new issues or "voting results"

Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from Janina

Press release: February 20 is World Social Justice Day and the birthday of ECONOMY

February 20 is the United Nations International Social Justice Day. Putting this day in the spotlight is more necessary than ever: the wealth of the 10 richest people in the world has doubled since the beginning of the pandemic. Along the way, economic inequality reduced the income of 99 % of the world's population over the same period, pushing more than 160 million people into poverty. This is according to Oxfam International's recently released "Inequality kills" report. Inequality kills because inequality contributes to the death of at least one person every four seconds.

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