Common Goods

Holistic Organizational Development with the Concept of the Common Good Economy

My offers as a certified GWÖ consultant: organizational consulting, workshops, coaching, training, lectures - also online

• Business enterprises and the Common Good Economy: How do they fit together?
• What are the advantages of the GWÖ compared to other concepts of sustainability?

For organizations, companies and company management, the instruments of the Common Good Economy with the Common Good Report and the Common Good Balance Sheet offer a holistic approach to sustainable organizational development.

Here is a summary of the benefits for companies and organizations:

• The GWÖ report manual asks the right questions to position oneself as an organization fit for the future. Compared to other sustainability and reporting tools, the GWÖ is more holistic and integrates all relevant company areas.
• The experiences of previous GWÖ companies show: The preparation of the GWÖ report is an important driver for innovations - for example in organizational design, the development of new products and internal and external communication.
• GWÖ starts at the beginning: Addressing values is the foundation. With the creation of the GWÖ report, companies receive an implementation-strong tool to "bring to life" their own values, i.e. to transfer them into concrete action. In this way, you avoid the dangerous value-washing: when values are proclaimed but not lived - and credibility suffers as a result.
• Your contributions to society become visible: You show yourself as a socially beneficial company.
• You can also use the Common Good Report - with the appropriate design - for non-financial reporting, in accordance with the EU Directive and the CSR Directive Implementation Act CSR-RUG.
• You can use the GWÖ report and the GWÖ balance sheet positively in your marketing and sales.
• Employer branding and attractiveness as an employer: Your orientation, which is also oriented towards the common good, demonstrably makes you more attractive to the younger generation as well as to experienced competence bearers for whom meaning and social benefit are important. By the way, this group of people is getting bigger and bigger.

Along a manual with questions and indicators on the different topics, each company and organization (also municipalities/cities) can work out the existing strengths and the development potentials. The following process is planned for this purpose:

1. Prepare and write the common good report.
2. Have the result audited by an external auditor.
3. Publish the common good balance sheet (audit certificate) and the GWÖ report.

1. Create a common good report

In the form of the Common Good Report, you as an organization can document your sustainability and common good orientation in a structured and holistic way - well-founded, solid and credible. It is not about greenwashing, but about a transparent presentation of what you are already doing in your organization on topics such as sustainability, solidarity and human dignity and where you yourself still see room for improvement. Through this, you will identify essential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks for yourself and your organization (corresponding to a SWAT analysis).

As a certified GWÖ consultant, I am happy to support you in this process of reflection and development through my know-how, goal-oriented consulting and effective personal coaching.

Another option is to prepare the GWÖ report in a peer group moderated by a GWÖ consultant. Together with other organizations (4 - 6 in total), you develop your individual reports in a professionally facilitated process during several workshops. The period covers about six months and can be the basis for a mutual peer evaluation (in such a case, the next step of external auditing is omitted).

As a GWÖ consultant, I will be happy to support you in your search for possible partner organizations for a peer group.

2. Have the result or your GWÖ report externally audited (audit and GWÖ balance sheet).

After you have prepared your Common Good Report comes the independent evaluation by accredited GWÖ auditors (unless you opt for a peer evaluation). However, the audit is not just about a formal review of your GWÖ report, but about constructive feedback and development discussions. Experience has shown that this feedback is a real treasure trove of impulses for innovation and improvement. This is where an important benefit for future-oriented and sustainable organizational design unfolds. You benefit from the holistic nature of the GWÖ approach.

The final audit result according to the international quality assurance standards for GWÖ audits is clearly presented in a certificate, your GWÖ balance sheet. Your contribution to the common good is reflected both quantitatively (balance sheet result) and qualitatively in the report.

The certificate is increasingly perceived by the public as a seal of quality and supports your credibility; internally, it acts as a value mirror and strengthens awareness and motivation for your value-oriented goals.

3. Publish the GWÖ balance sheet

After the audit, you can publish your attestation in the form of your common good balance sheet summarized on one page, often this is done embedded in your common good report.

The certificate is valid for two years. You are welcome to identify yourself to the public as an accounting company of the common good economy.

Of course, you can prepare and publish your common good balance sheet and report in an editorially and graphically appealing way. Balance sheet press conferences are also possible and support the effectiveness in the public. Within the company, it makes sense to present the results and discuss them with other stakeholders. This is often where important development steps for your organization emerge.

In addition to your own communication activities, your report will be published on the Audit Firmenauskunft website.

GWÖ companies and organizations are now increasingly perceived as pioneers of social change because they are actively committed to ethical business. The network of like-minded companies pulling together is growing. You too can become a part of this and strengthen your contribution to society - and of course benefit from it yourself.

As a certified GWÖ consultant, I would be happy to support you in this entire process and in the topics of the common good economy through my professional know-how and the open view of an external observer and sparring partner. Contact me right away without obligation.