On February 27th, 2025, the Research Center for Information Technology in Karlsruhe invited guests to the FZI Open House, which focused on the world of tomorrow’s information and communication technology. More than 250 guests were able to experience the transfer of technology and knowledge for an economy in transition firsthand.
The integration of sustainable engineering into production processes helps companies to cope with climate change and resource scarcity and to achieve the goal of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050.
How much scope of action do companies have in the face of EU ESG regulations under the Green Deal, such as the EU Taxonomy, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the European Sustainable Reporting Standard? Are all these regulations just a burden for companies? What is the impact of the current discussion around the EU Omnibus Initiative?
Mr. Kai Wuttke (Forvis Mazars) addressed these questions in his presentation “Technological innovations and regulatory drivers for a sustainable future”. He shed light on the Omnibus Initiative, which aims to simplify reporting requirements and achieve partial deregulation. He emphasized that many companies are already working hard on their sustainability reporting. Despite numerous statements from EU bodies, however, it remains unclear what legal consequences will follow, which is causing uncertainty among companies. In conclusion, he reminded the audience that the climate crisis will not wait for regulation – while companies are dealing with uncertainties, the consequences of climate change are already being felt, and these long-term risks must be taken into account in the economy.
Our CEO Dr. Stefan Hellfeld reported on the opportunities for gaining a competitive edge by “riding the paragraphs”. He emphasized the advantages of EU regulations, such as easier market access, risk minimization (especially for medium-sized companies) and the competitive advantages of a stronger positioning as a trustworthy partner. In addition, the standard comparison for European companies enables better comparability. Dr. Hellfeld also explained how ARADEX manages to successfully combine Asian speed with European/German thoroughness in its day-to-day work.
Ms. Stefanie Jelinek (Managing Director of EnBW Urbane Infrastruktur GmbH) shared her experiences from the energy industry, in particular the heating planning for district projects. In view of the long lead times of such projects (often over ten years), she emphasized that measures are already being taken that meet the requirements, but are continuously adapted. Individual approaches to heating planning are unavoidable on site.
Image rights: FZI Research Center for Information Technology/@Sandra Göttisheim
