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From the perspective of manufacturing companies, the political, media and economic discourse on decarbonisation in the recent years manifests itself as an increasing social expectation of action. In Germany, in particular, this discourse is also being driven forward by powerful companies, respectively sectors, most notably the automotive industry. Against this background, the present paper examines how German manufacturing companies react to rising societal pressure and emerging policies. It examines which measures the companies have taken or plan to take to reduce their carbon footprint, which aspirations are associated with this and the structural characteristics (company size, energy intensity, and sector) by which these are influenced. A mix methods approach is applied, utilising data gathered from approx. 900 companies in context of the Energy Efficiency Index of German Industry (EEI), along with media research focusing on the announced decarbonisation plans and initiatives. We demonstrate that one-size-serves-all approaches are not suitable to decarbonise industry, as the situation and ambitions differ considerably depending on size, energy intensity and sector. Even though the levels of ambition and urgency are high, micro and energy intensive companies, in particular, are challenged. The present research uncovers a series of questions that call for attention to materialise the ambitions and address the challenges outlined.
Eine Organisation hin zur Klimaneutralität zu transformieren, ist nicht nur Neuland für praktisch jeden, der loslegt: Es geht los mit dem „Wollen“, also dem Ziel, dann wird der Weg skizziert, und schließlich muss es auch noch jemand umsetzen. Aus ihren Projekten der Begleitung von Organisationen auf dem Weg zur Klimaneutralität erscheint den Autoren folgende Erfahrung des Geschäftsführers Philipp Tiefenbach der Dorfbäckerei Tiefenbach, St. Johann-Würtingen, besonders treffend: „Machen ist wie Wollen, nur krasser.“ Für eine Kommune gerät dieser Prozess zu einem „wicked problem“. Sechs Lösungswege für Kommunen erscheinen attraktiv.