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Open Access 2025 | Open Access | Buch

Decarbonizing German Family Firms

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Über dieses Buch

In dieser Open-Access-Publikation präsentieren wir vier Kapitel, die eine ganzheitliche Sicht auf die entscheidenden Schritte auf dem Weg der Dekarbonisierung eines Familienunternehmens bieten. Die Erreichung der EU-Klimaziele hängt angesichts ihrer zentralen Rolle in der Wirtschaft und ihrer erheblichen Treibhausgasemissionen stark von deutschen Familienunternehmen ab. Zunächst untersuchen wir die Mess- und Buchführungsmechanismen der Treibhausgasemissionen und nutzen dabei Daten deutscher Familienunternehmen aus verschiedenen Branchen. Zweitens untersuchen wir das Management der Zielspannungen zwischen ökologischen und ökonomischen Zielen, wobei wir uns darauf konzentrieren, wie Familienunternehmen aus ihren Emissionsdaten Werte ableiten können. Drittens analysieren wir im Hinblick auf die bevorstehende Richtlinie über die Berichterstattung über Nachhaltigkeit (CSRD) und die Bedeutung der Kommunikation von Dekarbonisierungsbemühungen an die Stakeholder die Auswirkungen dieses Berichtsmandats auf Familienunternehmen. Viertens bleibt die Rentabilität angesichts des hohen Investitionsbedarfs an Dekarbonisierungsmaßnahmen ein entscheidendes Anliegen. Daher vertiefen wir uns auch in die Beziehung zwischen unternehmerischer Umweltleistung und unternehmerischer Finanzleistung und heben die Schnittmenge zwischen Nachhaltigkeit und langfristiger finanzieller Lebensfähigkeit hervor.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Open Access

Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
This statement was made by António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), in November 2022 at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP) in Egypt (World Economic Forum, 2022).
Gunther Friedl

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Chapter 2. Measurement and Accounting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Measurement and Accounting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in German Family-Owned Companies
Abstract
This chapter explores the unique intersection of family-owned companies and their approach to environmental management in times of a growing need to fight climate change. Among various initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, the EU has been exceptionally proactive, mandating large companies to report on environmental and non-financial matters. Within Europe, this study focuses on Germany, where family-owned companies play a dominant role, comprising a significant portion of the private sector and emissions.
Julius C. Baumgart

Open Access

Chapter 3. Management of Goal Tensions in Strategic Decision-Making
Managing Goal Tensions in Strategic Decision-Making—The Case of Decarbonization
Abstract
This chapter investigates how family firms balance tensions between economic and environmental goals arising in the course of decarbonization. Goal tensions and their resolution are particularly relevant in family firms due to the overlap between the family and the business. Employing the attention-based view, we conduct a multiple case study with eleven German firms and derive a model that connects a firm’s motivation and attitude toward decarbonization with a strategy for balancing economic and environmental goals.
Johanna C. Schulze-Berge, Gunther Friedl

Open Access

Chapter 4. Reporting of Sustainability Information Under the CSRD
Multiple Case Study Analysis on the Consequences of Mandatory Sustainability Reporting in Private German Family Firms
Abstract
This chapter explores the consequences of the Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting Directive (CSRD) on family firms. The European Commission (EC) extends under the CSRD the number of reporting companies from approximately 12,000 to 50,000, with the greatest increase in Germany. For 2025, around 13,000 German private family firms must disclose a sustainability report for the first time.
Ralf Ebner, Alexandra Knoth

Open Access

Chapter 5. Assessment of Financial Performance of Decarbonization
The Influence of Family Ownership—Does it Pay for Family Firms to Decarbonize?
Abstract
This chapter assesses the linkage between corporate environmental performance (CEP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) in family firms via econometric techniques. I add to the question, “When does it pay to be green?” by investigating the condition of being a family firm. Existing research on the linkage between CEP and CFP for family firms is scarce, yields inconclusive findings, and lacks studies that express CEP via corporate carbon performance.
Johanna C. Schulze-Berge

Open Access

Chapter 6. Conclusion
Gunther Friedl
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Decarbonizing German Family Firms
herausgegeben von
Gunther Friedl
Copyright-Jahr
2025
Electronic ISBN
978-3-658-47801-8
Print ISBN
978-3-658-47800-1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-47801-8