Department of Business Administration

Chair of Production and Logistics (Prof. Dr. Jutta Geldermann)

• DFG Research Training Group (GRK) 1703
  “Resource Efficiency in Corporate Networks - Methods for Enterprise and Corporate Level Planning to Utilize Renewable Resources“
  
  Short description:
  Renewable raw materials are currently not only important for energy generation, but are also becoming increasingly relevant as an alternative resource base for petroleum-based products. Scientists at the Research Training Group endeavor to develop methods to improve the deployment efficiency of renewable resources in the production processes of by-products, giving rise to the simultaneous multiple output of products. Researchers at Göttingen specifically investigate wood and wood materials used in the manufacturing and process industry. The aim is to cascade their utilization, thus the multiple utilization of a raw material before its conversion into energy.
  
  GRK 1703 Resource Efficiency in Corporate Networks - Methods for Enterprise and Corporate Level Planning to Utilize Renewable Resources




• IT for Green: Environment, energy and resource management with CEMIS 2.0 (ertemis innovation network)
  
  Head of project: Professor Dr. Jorge Marx Gómez, Professor of Business Information Systems I / VLBA, University of Oldenburg
  
  Participating faculty members: Professor Dr. Jutta Geldermann
  
  Short description:
  The project deals with central issues within applied IT, environmental management and the business of making corporate environmental management information systems (BUIS) accessible to business – primarily small- and mid-size companies – in the form of practical products (such as capability maturity models, reference models, software products, new divisions, CEMIS training and studying opportunities, etc). The professorship’s responsibilities lie primarily in Module 2 (green logistics and sustainable product development: automated calculation of CO2 emissions along the supply chain).
  
  Project duration: 2011 to 2014
  
  
  Funding: EFRD (European Fund for Regional Devfelopment – Funding Line 2.1.3 Innovation Networks)




• Sustainable use of bioenergy – Bridging conflicting demands of climate stabilisation, resource conservation, society and economic sciences
  
  Head of the General Assembly: Prof. Dr. Hans Ruppert
  
  Prof. Dr. Jutta Geldermann is head of both sub-projects.
  
  Funding: Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony
  
  Short description:
  The objective of the research work is to create the foundation for a new bioenergy region. This includes optimizing the crop yields in compliance with land, nature and environmental protection. The integrated cultivation of energy crops will be strictly consensus-oriented by harmonizing the needs of the population, the farmers and conservationists better than before. Of importance in this context are also the new concepts of bioenergy use for contaminated sites where no crops for food or feed production should be grown. At the same time, researchers aim to integrate the large energy potential of wood and straw burning into the overall concept. Based on the experience in the bioenergy village of Jühnde, the researchers will concentrate on the most economical realization of further bioenergy villages.
  
  Project period: 2009 to 2014
  
  For further information, especially on the two sub-projects headed by Prof. Geldermann, please see:
  New research collaboration: Sustainable use of biomass energy – Faculty of Economic Sciences participates in two sub-projects




• e-Home Energy Project 2020
  
  Head of project: E.ON Avacon AG and the Energy Reseach Centre Lower Saxony (EFZN)
  
  Participating faculty member: Prof. Dr. Jutta Geldermann
  
  Short description:
  Within the framework of the research project „e-Home Energy Project 2020“, changing tasks and demands on the power networks are examined that arise from future developments and structures and amount of generation and load.
  As an example, feeding renewable energies into the power grid can be seen here, the network structure of which increasingly meets with the limits of being designed for central power generation. Its limitation requires investments in the expansion or reconstruction of the power grid. The aim is to explore the future developments that arise through the integration of decentralized generation facilities and additional loads, such as electromobility in electrical distribution networks. In addition, transdisciplinary issues of the project are examined through the research work of the Energy Research Centre Lower Saxony (EFZN). As part of this cross-sectional research, legal and sociopolitical issues are to be examined on the one hand. On the other hand, the acceptance research represents an essential work package. The economic part of the cross-sectional research, including the development of business models for innovate system services is handled by the Chair of Production and Logistics.
  
  Funding: E.ON Avacon AG
  
  Project duration: 2010 to 2012
  
  Further information: e-Home Energy Project 2020 (in German)




• Execution of an ecological assessment of biogas plants under consideration of the conditions in Lower Saxony
  
  Project head: Prof. Dr. Jutta Geldermann
  
  Sponsor: Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Consumer Protection and Rural Development
  
  Short description:
  The largely closed CO2 cycle, the renewability of organic raw materials and the creation of regional value chains are some of the numerous advantages of bioenergy production. The use of biogas is characterized in this context by the diverse potentials of use in the form of the electricity, heat and fuel production. Another option for the use of biogas is processing it to the quality of natural gas and feeding it into the gas network. Economic incentives for the use of biogas are offered by the German Renewal Energy Act (EEG). To what extent the expansion of the biogas plants and the use of biogas fulfill the expectations regarding ecological benefits (e.g. positive greenhouse gas balance) can be examined with the life cycle assessment. The aim of this project is to continue life cycle assessment studies for biogas plants under consideration of the special circumstances of Lower Saxony. The concrete implementation is carried out for four existing plants from typical regions of Lower Saxony including the selection of a suitable comparison system in coordination with the client and the 3N Dienstleistungen GmbH. The first study will be conducted for a biogas plant in an agricultural region such as the Hildesheim Börde. This study will be supplemented by further life cycle analyses of the biogas plants in a region with lower yield (e.g. Soltau‐Fallingbostel), a pork and poultry farming region, and a dairy cattle region.
  
  Project period: 2010 - 2011




• Chemical Leasing as a Model for Sustainable Development, including testing procedures and quality criteria, with case studies in Germany
  
  Head of project: BiPRO GmbH, Munich
  
  Funding: German Federal Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt Berlin)
  
  Coordination: BiPRO München
  
  Participating faculty members: Prof. Dr. Jutta Geldermann et al., see www.chemikalienleasing.de (in German)
  
  Short description:
  Chemical leasing is an innovative business model in which the classical quantity-based payment (e.g. euro per ton of detergent) of chemicals is replaced by a use-based pay (e.g. euro per square meter of cleaned surface). This also creates a financial interest for the chemical manufacturer to reduce the use of chemicals of the user through process optimization. As a consequence, there is an intensified cooperation between chemical manufacturer and user. This can lead to economic benefits for both partners and in particular – due to the reduced amount of chemicals used – to the conservation of resources, reduction of environmental impact, energy conservation and prevention/reduction of risks from chemical application.
  
  In this research project commissioned by the Federal Environmental Agency, quality criteria were developed on the basis of eight initiated and accompanied pilot projects that aim to help ensure a high level of the business model in regards to environmental and health aspects. The developed quality criteria were discussed in the framework of an established work group and are currently being tested on an international scale by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and adopted.
  
  In addition, quality criteria were developed in regards to possible public support of chemical leasing as well as targeted communication and for smooth cooperation between the parties. Furthermore, the pilot projects were used to analyse inhibitory and promoting factors for successful implementation of chemical leasing. On this basis, proposals were drawn up to develop incentives and suitable communication measures to further spread the business model.
  
  Project duration: 2008 to 2010




• Survey: CO2-Reduction Potentials and Costs
  
  Head of project: Prof. Dr. Jutta Geldermann
  
  Short description:
  In 2008, the state government of Lower Saxony was the first state to set up a government commission for climate change. This commission aims to support the state government in developing a climate protection plan for Lower Saxony. In this context, the Lower Saxony Ministry of Environment and Climate Protection has commissioned the Energy Research Center Lower Saxony (EFZN) to identify possible measures for the state of Lower Saxony. The starting point was the study „Costs and Potentials of Avoiding Green House Gas Abatement in Germany“, that was issued by McKinsey on behalf of the „BDI Initiative – Business for Climate“ in 2007. The EFZN study is based on known data and measures to avoid greenhouse gas emissions in regards to the potential of Lower Saxony and summarizes the CO2 emissions and the energy consumption in the field of renewable energy and combined heat and power generation, buildings, business, trade and services, transport and agriculture.
  
  Funding: Energy Reseach Centre Lower Saxony (EFZN)
  
  Project duration: 2009

The chair also participates in the university's PhD study programme “Biodiversity and Society” as well as in the Energy Research Centre Lower Saxony (EFZN) (in German).



Chair of Information Management (Prof. Dr. Lutz Kolbe)

• GreenIT Cockpit
  
  Head of project: Thomas Leitert, TimeKontor AG
  
  Participating institutions:
  Chair of Information Management, Prof. Dr. Lutz M. Kolbe
  TU Berlin
  Axel Springer AG
  TimeKontor AG
  Microsoft Deutschland GmbH
  Federal Environmental Agency
  
  Short description:
  An interdisciplinary collaborative project. The aim is to research and develop an organization-wide, business process-oriented management cockpit for the energy efficiency of information and communication technologies.
  
  Funding: Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
  
  Project duration: 2011 to 2014

Department of Economics

Chair of Economic Policy and SME Research (Prof. Dr. Kilian Bizer)

• Sustainability-Oriented Assessment of Innovation Projects (NaBI): Sub-Project Economics
  
  Head of project: Prof. Dr. Kilian Bizer
  
  Participating institutions:
  Prof. Dr. Klaus Möller, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
  Festo AG & Co. KG, Esslingen, Germany
  Sartorius AG, Göttingen, Germany
  
  Short description:
  The aim of the research project is the development of a sustainability-oriented methodology for innovation assessment, which considers all relevant stakeholders (extended “market”-definition). The analysis focuses on the impacts of innovation projects on stakeholders like municipalities, federal states, and the country. In this respect their requirements regarding a sustainable, economically comprehensible assessment are to be integrated. Through that type of an extended decision calculation investments in sustainable innovations will be calculable as well as predictable and their impacts will be made comprehensible.
  Within the context of an economic analysis of the economic framework and its incentives to carry out sustainable innovation, a guide for the sustainability-oriented assessment of innovation projects for businesses is to be developed as a result.
  
  Funding:
  German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Development Programme "Field of Action in Innovation Policy for Sustainable Development"
  
  Project duration: 2009 to 2011