The European Business Review

What do you associate with the word “campus”? For most of us, besides the happy student memories, there are aspects of university life that we were glad to leave behind. Perhaps your mind jumps to that particularly stuffy lecture theater, with its regimented rows of uncomfortable seats. Or perhaps to a particular professor, who could monologue for hours and hours… and seemed oblivious to the (dire) mood they created in the classroom. Maybe you have a specific emotional memory instead – for example, the stomach-curdling anxiety you felt as you crammed for your final exams. Rules, regimented schedules, and rote learning – all dictated by one lecturer, standing at the front of the room. Is this what adult executive participants have later come to associate with campus education? OWNERSHIP For ESMT executive education faculty,…

Christoph Burger is a senior lecturer at ESMT Berlin. Before joining in 2003, he worked in industry at Otto Versand and as vice president at Bertelsmann Buch AG, in consulting practice at Arthur D. Little, and as an independent consultant focusing on private equity financing of SMEs. His research focus is in innovation/blockchain and energy markets. Burger studied business administration at the University of Saarbrücken (Germany), the Hochschule St. Gallen (Switzerland), and economics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (US). Bianca Schmitz is a director of leadership development programs and director of knowledge transfer of the Bringing Technology to Market Center at ESMT Berlin. Her research has been published in journals such as Industrial Marketing Management and Journal of Family Business Management. Beyond academic research, Bianca has published a number…

Q : Good day, Mr Risager! It’s lovely to speak with you again and we’re grateful you chose to spend this time with us. How are you liking the new year so far? A: The new year has started with a number of quite big orders for new customers for all three robots. However, I can’t disclose more about these. The new year has also meant a big change for me personally, as I decided to step down as the CEO and take a new role in the company as the CSO – Chief Strategy Officer. I will remain on the board of directors and the executive board. Q :You had quite a career before setting up your own company. A lot of technical entrepreneurs go on to study business management to acquire…

The UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow saw a welcome spate of commitments being made to address global warming. There, among many other agreements, 191 countries finalised the Paris Rulebook, which sets out a framework for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to zero. In concert, a diverse group of business leaders voiced pledges around biodiversity, deforestation, renewable energy and much more, reflecting the escalating sense of responsibility within the business sector to tackle climate change. The central question now is this: how well do these commitments translate into action? EUROPE’S PLACE IN THE RACE TO NET ZERO Seeking to learn more about what it will take to go from commitment to achievement, Accenture Research has studied the efforts European businesses are taking to meet the targets outlined in the…

The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard classifies a company's GHG emissions into three "scopes". • Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from company-owned and controlled resources. In other words, emissions released to the atmosphere as a direct result of a company’s activities. • Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of energy purchased from a utility provider, i.e. emissions resulting from the consumption of purchased electricity, steam, heat and cooling. • Scope 3 emissions are all indirect emissions – not included in scope 2 – that occur in the value chain, including both upstream and downstream emissions. Businesses must move toward net-zero emissions, not just in their own operations (scope 1 and 2 emissions) but also in their supply chain and use of their products (scope 3 emissions).…

Jean-Marc Ollagnier is the chief executive officer of Accenture in Europe, with management oversight of all industries and services in Europe. Based in Paris, he is also a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee. Sytze Dijkstra is a senior principal at Accenture Research for European and Sustainability Thought Leadership in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Monique de Ritter is a research specialist at Accenture Research for European and Sustainability Thought Leadership in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.…