How is the industrial company
Kern-Liebers currently setting up its sustainability management? Anna Gruber gave answers to this question during her guest lecture in the module "Sustainable Management" of Prof. Dr. Markus Schmitt in the course of studies "Industrial Engineering".Anna Gruber was herself a student in this module three years ago. After completing her bachelor's degree in "International Industrial Engineering", she went on to complete a master's degree in "Sustainability Economics and Management" at the University of Oldenburg. Her master's thesis took her to Kern-Liebers, a global technology leader for springs and stamped parts with around 7,000 employees at more than 40 locations. Its products are used, for example, in vehicles, machines, buildings, consumer goods and medical technology. Anna Gruber has been involved in the development of sustainability management at Kern-Liebers from the very beginning. In the meantime, she is responsible for it herself as Director Corporate Sustainability.
In her presentation, Anna Gruber first addressed the growing importance of sustainability requirements for companies. As a result, her company has developed a Group-wide sustainability strategy that extends to 2025. The goals include, for example, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, switching to renewable energies, aligning investment decisions with sustainability, managing social and environmental risks, qualifying employees for sustainable development, and sustainability reporting. Gruber also explained how the company has anchored sustainability management in its organization and what challenges it faces in implementing it. In particular, he addressed issues of motivation, data availability and resource allocation. It became clear that sustainable development in companies requires not only technological change, but also structural and cultural change. In the concluding discussion, numerous aspects were deepened and further developed. Tips for the transition from study to professional life were also given.
For the students, Anna Gruber's presentation at the end of the module was a welcome insight into practice and confirmation that the content covered in the module is highly relevant. Accordingly, in the Bachelor's program in industrial engineering, the focus on "Energy and Sustainability" was already established two years ago in the last two semesters. And in the Master's program, the module "Management of Sustainable Development" will be offered starting in the winter semester 2023/24.
Follow the links for more information about our
bachelor's program in industrial engineering, as well as our
master's program in industrial engineering at Landshut University of Applied Sciences.