With a new weaving tool, the RKW Competence Center in Eschborn wants to support small and medium -sized companies (SMEs) in developing its own digitization solutions sustainably and with resources. The “Twin Transition Tool”, which has recently been available online, is intended to provide impulses for companies how sustainability and digitization can be thought of together and implemented. For this, the website provides concrete practical examples. “It should be a tool that can also be used on the tablet or during the train ride. This is also a bit of fun and motivates to think about your own digitization strategy in connection with more sustainability,” says Ute Juschkus, head of the digitalization and innovation at the RKW Competence Center. German economy ”, this is an association that is supported by employers’ associations and unions. The RKW competence center with 70 employees in Eschborn, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics, became the federal office at the turn of the millennium. It sees itself as a “neutral impulse and guide for German medium-sized companies”. So far, digitization and sustainability have so far been thought and processed separately, says Juschkus. Digital solutions to efficiency and sustainability and thus also to competitiveness contribute: “Those who do not use the efficiency potential of digital technologies will no longer be as competitive as they want.” When using the Twin Transition Tools, companies can first select the most important goals for sustainable development (SDG). In total, the United Nations defined 17. The goals of “affordable and clean energy”, “sustainable consumption and production” and “measures for climate protection” – these are particularly important for SMEs, says Juschkus. In a second step, users can then bring the most important goals for them with the corresponding technologies. From 15 digital technologies, users can use to five with the help of which they want to achieve the previously selected sustainability goals, such as “KI”, “building automation” or “warehouse management”. On the basis of the prioritized goals and the selected technologies, the tool then shows suitable practical examples of medium -sized companies that have already implemented digital solutions for more sustainability The Federal Ministry of Economics Example presents the tool after selecting the preset goals and combined them with the technologies “Ki”, “Internet of Things” and “Building automation”, the example of a fine baked goods manufacturer who, together with a software provider, has developed AI-based forecasts for food production to avoid waste and protect the environment. Another example is a company that uses AI to make the trade with used machines more sustainable and inexpensive. More to find the case studies shown on the topic, the competence center has used its wide network. “We are very lucky that we are very well networked, but also through our funding provider, the Federal Ministry of Economics,” says Juschkus. For example, they would have used their contacts to the Mittelstand, which was also funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, or for the Green AI Hub, an initiative of the Federal Environment Ministry. For others, the RKW competence center also researched. “We have been pursuing the topic of digitization in SMEs for years. So we could see which examples we can deliver.” The tool is now to be expanded by at least at least at the end of 2027 – until then the current project planning is sufficient.
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