News

| Digitalization represents a key challenge for the future of municipalities and regions. The expansion of the digital infrastructure helps to ensure that the population is supplied with essential goods and services. It is largely supported by small and medium-sized municipal companies. Therefore, a continuous and further development and strengthening of companies‘ digital competence will be essential.

To achieve this goal, success factors and related areas of action must be identified as a first step. The article „Instruments to strengthen the digital competence of companies in the municipal sector” published in the book “Smart Region” in February 2021 points out such factors and areas of actions that are essential for a successful digital transformation process. Three different maturity models for an initial assessment of digital competence are presented and analysed. Following on from this, levers for digital transformation, which can be used as a guide in the initial phase of addressing the issue, are outlined.

Publication: „Mertens, A., Ahrend, K.-M., Kopsch, A., Stork, W. (Hrsg.): „Smart Region – Die digitale Transformation einer Region nachhaltig gestalten.“, Springer Gabler, 1st Edition 2021, eBook ISBN: 978-3-658-29726-8. .

| On 15th February 2021, the 2nd edition of the Ecodesign Brochure was published by the Technologieland Hessen in cooperation with the Hessian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport and Housing and Hessen Trade & Invest. Texts and contents were created and designed by Dr. Maike Hora from e-hoch-3 and Ursula Tischner from econcept. The agency Schumacher in Darmstadt has taken over the new design.

The brochure is primarily aimed at companies, developers, suppliers and buyers of resource-efficient innovative products and services. The brochure shows benefits for economy and ecology through ecodesign, framework conditions, essential ecodesign-strategies and practical aids. Practical examples of innovative companies show the approaches and illustrate a typical ecodesign-process.

To download the brochure, click here.
Further information can be found at Technologieland Hessen.

| At the beginning of October 2020, the 42nd conference of the RWTH TIMEX body of experts took place. The main objectives of the TIMEX network are the connection between innovation managers, in a setting in which participants can discuss with peers, learn about latest trends from innovation research, and build relationships. Managing Director Meriem Tazir from e-hoch-3 was participant as co-moderator and eco-efficiency expert at the TIMEX conference. Several R&D-, technology- and innovation- managers of large and medium-sized companies were present, such as Bayer, Ford, 3M, Henkel, eOn, Viega, Hella, Lindt, ThyssenKrupp, Voss, Vodafone.

More information about the TIMEX body of experts can be found at TIMEX RWTH-Aachen.

| As part of the transnational project CIRCuIT-Circular Construction in Regenerative Cities, Dr. Maike Hora and Mahsa Doostdar met with the project partners University of Hamburg, ARTELIA, Otto Dörner, Otto Wulff and the Senate Chancellery in Hamburg at the end of September 2020. One of the main activities during the gathering included the visit of a recycling factory for waste of construction and demolition. The aim was to collect practical, hands-on information on the recycling process, that will be used as input for the development of sustainable tools for the CIRCuIT Project. Further discussions included the carbon footprint of buildings and construction waste.

More information about the CIRCuIT project can be found at CIRCuIT-Project.eu.

| A third of our global material consumption and waste comes from the construction and demolition of buildings. Therefore, there is an urgent need to take steps for the construction sector to transition from a linear to a circular economy.
The transnational project CIRCuIT-Circular Construction in Regenerative Cities- funded by the European Commission´s Horizon 2020 programme, is primarily concerned with implement circular economy in the value chain of the built environment and to enable cities to initiate circular transitions.
29 Partners from various sectors and city cluster coordinators from Helsinki, Copenhagen, Hamburg and London are working together to achieve this goal. This cooperation enables supporting partners, such as e-hoch-3, to contribute to the realization of the circular economy at all levels of the built environment by implementing sustainability tools such as Ecodesign and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of construction materials. Furthermore, e-hoch-3 will support the project in developing urban planning instruments to support cities in implementing circular construction solutions and setting up a knowledge sharing structure in the form of the CIRCuIT Academy.

More information about the CIRCuIT project can be found at CIRCuIT-Project.eu.

| The event “Plastics Economy – Plastics in the Circular Economy”, which took place on September 24, 2019 by the Hessen Trade & Invest GmbH with the cooperation partner DECHEMA e.V., gives an overview of the use and recycling of plastics and explores the question of how a comprehensive and high-quality recycling can succeed. In addition, measures for the removal of microplastics from industrial wastewater and biodegradable materials were presented as an alternative to conventional plastics.
Dr. Maike Hora from e-hoch-3 gave a lecture on “Ecodesign with Plastics”, which deals with the use of alternative materials in the design phase of products.

Further information about the event can be found at this link.

| For the upcoming winter study period 19/20 at the University of Applied Science Darmstadt (h-da), managing director of e-hoch-3, Meriem Tazir, will provide lectures on the sustainability topic Corporate Sustainability Management. Through the courses, students will be able to evaluate the possible uses and results of different measures and design instruments for a company or product development and be able to develop concepts for environmental and sustainability-oriented corporate responsibility.

For further information on the sustainability courses visit h_da.

e-hoch-3 as partner at the update Symposium 2019 for the research project “System Innovation for Sustainable Development” (s:ne)

| The “s:ne update Symposium 2019” took place in the Schader Forum on 24 June as part of the “System Innovations for Sustainable Development (s: ne)” project of the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. Together with national experts and project participants (Innovative Hochschule (h_da), the Schader-Foundation, Software AG, Öko-Institut eV, Institute for Social and Ecological Research (ISOE), Institute for Housing and the Environment (IWU) and e-hoch-3) work to strengthen the processes of change towards sustainable development.
Key topics included insights into applied transformative research in the field of sustainable consumption, the regional economy and climate protection in the communities. Based on a three-stage model, the methodological challenges were discussed within the framework of three workshop discussions for the development of possible solutions. Key findings included that the right actors should have a common goal in mind and engage in a mutual trusting cooperation in which a common language and defined terminology play an important role.

Video: The s:ne update symposium 2019

Video: System innovation for Sustainable development

Project funded by Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (Innovative Hochschule)

Meriem Tazir speaks at the Young Researchers´ Conference on Corporate Levers for Shared Value – CSR and Corporate Success

|The Young Researchers’ Conference acts as exchange platform on the topics Governance, Compliance & Regulation and is hosted by the Chair of corporate finance at the TU Darmstadt. On this year’s conference, Meriem Tazir from e-hoch-3 presented on her research and the corporate levers in Creating Shared Value (CSV). This business concept, developed by economist and strategist Michael Porter at Harvard Business School, aims to link the competitive advantage of businesses with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by defining the role of corporate businesses in our current economy and society.

For further information please contact us via the following link.

Dr. Maike Hora gives an interview for the design journal form on the topic of life cycle assessment

|Many factors play a role in the design of products or services. Those who want to consider not only the functional and economical but also the ecological aspects, ought to consider the entire life cycle of the product. Life cycle assessments (LCA) can be helpful tools that e-hoch-3 also uses to advise organizations and companies around the topic of sustainability. In an Interview with Design journal form, Civil engineer and co-founder Dr. Maike Hora explains how Life Cycle Assessments work, where their limitations are and how designers can meaningfully integrate them into their design process.

Design journal form N 282/2019

Development of a reusable system for coffee or tea cups for the city of Darmstadt

|On average, every Darmstadt citizen consumes 34 coffee-to-go disposable cups per year. Annually, more than 5 million cups are disposed of in Darmstadt. With a reusable and deposit system for coffee or tea cups, the amount of discarded disposable cups in Darmstadt should be reduced by at least 20 percent. The urban business group HEAG, the municipal services company EAD, the environmental consultancy e-hoch-3 and the Studierendenwerk have been involved in this cooperation project together with the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (h_da) and the city of Darmstadt. As part of this project, e-hoch-3 created a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of different types of systems and thereby supported the decision-making processes in the design and development of the Darmstadt reusable cup.

Impact h_da – Der Mehrwegbecher für Darmstadt
Artikel in der Frankfurter Rundschau.
Artikel in der Frankfurter Allgemeine.

Symposium on the most important governance and sustainability topics in the Bundesliga

|Thousands of fans are drawn to the football stadiums for excitement, enthusiasm and joy. But what role plays social responsibility and sustainability for the fans when it comes to their favorite sport? And how can sustainability aspects and football be integrated even better?

Members of football clubs, representatives of investment organizations, specialists for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and our sustainability expert Fr. Tazir of e-hoch-3 discuss these and other questions in the Symposium on Corporate Governance and Sustainability in professional football. The interview will be led by moderator and operator Ralf Leister of FußballWirtschaft in Frankfurt am Main.

Symposium “Corporate Governance and Sustainability in Professional Football”.

Environmental expert Dr. Maike Hora speaks with the Darmstädter ECHO about waste.

|Especially at Christmas time, the garbage cans get particularly full. Experts predict that a total of 20 to 30 percent more garbage is thrown away during Christmas. This is partly due to the increasing trend to buy gifts online rather than in the shop. However, this also causes that thrown away packages start to pile on the doorstep. How can we avoid waste as consumers?
Dr. Maike Hora holds a PhD. in waste technology and talks with the local newspaper Darmstädter ECHO about the topic.

ECHO Online Article “Wegwerfen heißt nicht weg”(german only)

In collaboration with the Universities of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt and Darmstadt, e-hoch-3 supports the creation of “EcoScreen”, an Eco-design tool for product development.

|During the development phase of a Product, environmental considerations are often placed only on the usage phase, although production or waste processes are equally or sometimes even more important for the environmental impact of the product. In order to promote an integrated life-cycle perspective for designers and product developers, e-hoch-3 collaborated with the University of Applied Science Frankfurt (Frankfurt UAS) and the University of Applied Science Darmstadt (h_da) on the research project “EcoScreen”. The research project aimed at the “Short-term assessment of production and waste treatment in EcoDesign”, through which the environmental decision-making process of developers is supported. The project also aimed to expand and build on several study modules offered by both Universities that deal with Eco-Design.

How environmentally friendly is the developed product? (german only)

In honour of its 10 years of existence in Darmstadt, Germany, e hoch 3 meets for an interview with the local newspaper ECHO.

|Our company e hoch 3 was established 10 years ago in Darmstadt, Germany, and became part of the local businesses that have found their home in the city of science. In honour to its anniversary, managing directors Dr. Maike Hora and Meriem Tazir met with the local newspaper ECHO in an interview to tell about the e hoch 3 history and work approach. The full article can be found in the link below (in German only).

ECHO-Online News Article

Presentation of the SMC-Excel Project at the Mass Customization and Personalization Conference (MCPC) 2017 in Aachen, Germany.

| The Mass Customization and Personalization Conference (MCPC) engages academics, business leaders and consultants in the development and discussion on Mass Customization and Personalization (MCP) strategies.

Together with our partners RWTH Aachen University and SUPSI we introduced the final results of the SMC Excel project, a collaborative research venture on the market potential and application of sustainable Mass Customization in the area of consumer electronics with focus on Televisions.

Two papers regarding the environmental impact and environmental assessment of Mass Customization were introduced by Dr. Maike Hora (e-hoch-3), Alena Hänsch (e-hoch-3) and Prof. Luca Canetta (SUPSI). Next to the paper presentations, our partner from the University of Aachen, Stephan Hankammer, presented final results on the market potential for a sustainable Mass Customization business model. The MCPC 2017 also marked the final stage and successful delivery of the SMC-Excel Project.

MCPC Conference 2017

SMC-Excel Project

Paper publication in „Innovation in sustainability research“ with focus on the implementation of sustainability goals in businesses and development of a Prioritization Tool

| The implementation of sustainability goals at company level is one of the foundations for the direct and indirect implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is an essential prerequisite for value-adding sustainability innovations in the company.
This paper shows that as a basic prerequisite, a company initially needs an understanding of its own development status in the implementation of sustainability topics (sustainability maturity level) in the organization. Only then appropriate measures can be selected and thus sustainability innovation potentials be recognized and implemented. In collaboration with medium-sized companies from Germany, a so-called “Prioritization Tool” is being developed, which is used to identify the respective sustainability maturity level derive suitable measures. The basis for the definition of the different levels is based on an analysis of the state of research with regard to the sustainability aspects and mechanisms that contribute to the added value in companies.

Publication: Innovation in der Nachhaltigkeitsforschung. Ein Beitrag zur Umsetzung der UNO Nachhaltigkeitsziele.