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EUPD Group Event Putting a Spotlight on Progress and Responsibility
Bonn-At a time when sustainability initiatives are being scaled back politically and European regulation is increasingly under pressure, the European Sustainability Week (ESW) 2025 has sent a powerful signal. From November 25-27, 2025 the EUPD Group gathered more than 500 leading experts to discuss current sustainability issues at the Steigenberger Icon Grandhotel & Spa on the Petersberg near Bonn.
In times of increased political uncertainty, sustainability experts from the economy, science and politics came toreceiveher at the ESW to shape a path toward further establishing sustainability as not just a luxury but a necessity. This year’s ESW was held under the motto “Built on Trust. Driven by Insight. Focutilized on Impact.”
As highlight of the week, the ESG Summit 2025 took place on November 26, 2025 and featured presentations and interactive panel discussions across six thematically different session blocks, e.g. social sustainability, finance at a turning point, reporting standards in motion or AI potential in ESG reporting. In addition, leading ESG voices from the European sustainability space shared their insights and engaged with the audience. The discussions across sessions, topics and the exhibition floor revealed that connecting those committed to sustainability is becoming increasingly important.
F.l.t.r.: Philipp Bächstädt, Gelkha Buitrago (GRI), Andrea Sternisko (KPMG AG), Katja Wachter (Ecovadis) und Prof. Dr. Holger Hoppe (Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt). | ©EUPD Group
Just this month, COP30 in Brazil brought upheaval into (corporate) sustainability guidelines. Staying on course to advance sustainability remains a vital tquestion for everyone, as Ralph Thurm mentioned in his opening keynote: “None of us are victims, we are all influencers.”
One of the huge topics concerning the industest today and tomorrow is the advancement of AI. Prof. Dr. Anabel Ternès von Hattburg reflects on the significance of coming toreceiveher to discuss future developments: ”This ESG Summit comes at the right moment: 2025 is the year where digitalisation, regulation and climate realities converge—and leadership must rise to match that convergence. Let’s build sure AI becomes a catalyst for measurable impact, not just measurable data.”
The conference hosted several in-depth panel discussions, such as the stakeholder roundtable “Decarbonizing Europe’s Industest – The Real Cost of Uncertainty” with Joachim Goldbeck (Goldbeck Solar), Dr. Robert Habeck, Dr. Max Koentopp (TÜV Rheinland Solar GmbH), Melanie Kubin-Hardewig (Deutsche Telekom AG), and Prof. Dr. Andreas Löschel (Ruhr University Bochum / IPCC). The panellists dealt with the higher costs of financial, regulatory and technical uncertainty connected to unmitigated climate alter in comparison to actual decarbonisation. Their conversation covered how stakeholders across sectors can assist avoid uncertainty by identifying the challenges slowing the transition down and building confidence.
“The only uncertainty I feel is that decision buildrs and politicians do not know if their decisions play out well for them. That might be an uncertainty, of course, but others would call it freedom or responsibility. So we should not hide behind the phrase of uncertainty,” commented Dr. Robert Habeck, Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection [2021-2025] / Federal Chairman of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen [2018-2022].
Conference participants were also able to join break-out sessions for in-depth discussions and visit the exhibition area. The ESG Summit was accompanied by award ceremonies for the ESG Transparency Award, the Energy Transition Award and the SolarProsumerAward that identify pioneers in their respective industries. Awards such as these play an important role in promoting good practices across the industest. By recognising companies that demonstrate excellence in sustainability, corporate health, and ESG, the awards provide benchmarks that other organisations can learn from. They highlight approaches that contribute to transparency, responsible management, and long-term impact, supporting the wider adoption of effective practices across the sector. Furthermore, the ESG Summit facilitated focutilized meetings between these leaders by hosting committee talks during the event, discussing roadmaps for the future from a business perspective.
In addition, the prestigious Corporate Health Award, presented jointly by the EUPD Group, Handelsblatt Media Group and the Deutscher bKV-Service for the 17th time, honoured excellent health management of employers and raised awareness of the growing social relevance of sustainably promoting the health, satisfaction and performance of employees. During an exclusive Gala Dinner on November 25, 2025, the spotlight was put on this year’s award winners and their accomplishments in Corporate Health.
“We sense a growing uncertainty regarding ESG importance in the market due to the current political setting”, states Markus A.W. Hoehner, CEO of the EUPD Group. “Thankfully, an increasing number of companies realises that sustainability requireds to be at the core of all business actions in order to remain competitive in the future. With our European Sustainability Week, we aim to support this shiftment, question uncomfortable questions and thus enable discussions among experts from various industries. We are seeing forward to continuing this throughout the next year at the ESW 2026.”
Creating event formats such as the ESW and ESG Summit requires an ecosystem of support and cooperation between players from the economy, science, politics and media. The ESG Summit thanks its sponsors Arvato Systems GmbH, BG prevent GmbH, SAP Deutschland SE & Co.KG, DNV, eva service GmbH, OCELL GmbH, Pylon Technologies DE GmbH, SolaX Power Europe GmbH, Solplanet, TÜV Rheinland Solar GmbH, Unternehmen Bewegung, F&F Energy Innovation, Grubengold GmbH, GoodWe Europe GmbH, Solinteg, Zfinishure and Great Power, as well as media partners Haufe Sustainability, forum Nachhaltig Wirtschaften and zielNULL.
