Signposting the way to a regenerative economy
Bürkert is meeting the challenges of our time with a vision that goes beyond traditional sustainability. The regenerative economy should actively contribute to protecting and strengthening the environment and society.
The extended period of growth in social prosperity we have seen in almost every part of the world has reached a tipping point. To date, this growth has been based on a linear economy that follows the take-make-dispose principle. It is a concept that has now gone as far as it can, however – something that is clear on various global levels spanning the environment, economics, society and politics.
But companies are also experiencing the tangible effects of this global phenomenon. The fluidics experts at Bürkert are observing the direct impact it is having on all four of the levels referred to above: for example, in the form of more frequent flooding in the Kocher river located near the company’s site, plus growing psychological and mental stress on employees, volatile material prices, apprentice training levels, employee motivation, barriers to exporting rare earths, tariffs, attempts at regulation through bureaucracy, and much more.
The question is how a German family business can react to this situation and how large its sphere of influence realistically is. The fluidics experts are meeting these challenges with their vision of a regenerative economy: despite knowing that this will not bring about change by itself, they believe that taking some initial steps can make the company an inspiration for others.
A regenerative economy aims not only to create a less harmful footprint, but also to have a positive impact on all life on Earth through all the actions it involves. Bürkert believes that prosperity for all increases when we begin to look at relationships systemically and derive actions from them.
In practice, the company is translating its vision into lived values that support what it hopes to achieve. It aims to take steps in this direction through long-term thinking, networking instead of competition and concrete behavioural changes. Long-term thinking, for example, is deeply rooted in family businesses, which think in terms of generations by their very nature. Specifically, this means that the company is using profits to promote social prosperity and gradually shifting from a type of thinking focused on sustainability to a regenerative economy. Both approaches must be implemented carefully to keep the company on track.
There is also a focus on measures that offer employees psychological security, support customers in implementing concepts based on a regenerative economy and strengthen local partnerships as well as agile fractal systems (organisational units that function independently but, at the same time, are part of a larger system). Georg Stawowy, CEO of Bürkert, says: “We are on a long road, and we need to be realistic when we assess the contributions we are making as we travel along that road. We also need a clear vision to guide us on our journey of small steps. In doing so, and I say this with a sense of modesty, we don’t just want to make our own contribution – we also want to signpost the way for others.”
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