How companies can promote biodiversity - students develop prototype for an app

Green roofs, collected rainwater, flowering meadows instead of trimmed lawns - companies can often do more for greater biodiversity at their company headquarters than they realise. The Bremen Biodiversity Index was developed by the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) to enable companies to assess their premises in terms of ecological criteria - but there is no digital application for this yet. Franziska Lichter from the Chair of International Management wanted to change that this summer semester. Together with students and in cooperation with DAUCUM gUG, she set herself the goal of adding digital functions to the index and establishing it as a strategic tool for sustainability management and reporting.

Getting to know the needs of companies

"It was important for us not to focus on supply chains and distant production sites, but rather on the impact that changes on the company's own premises can have on biodiversity," explains Franziska Lichter. As a first step, the students conducted an online survey among companies and interviewed experts to find out what companies want and where they need support. "The results showed that many companies are struggling with a lack of expertise, limited resources and the perceived complexity of the topic of biodiversity," says Franziska Lichter about the initial situation.

The mock-up: a first step towards the digital future

Based on these findings, the students have developed a mock-up for an app that offers companies an intuitive platform for assessing biodiversity on their sites and planning measures. The app enables automated assessment, visualises progress and provides context-specific recommendations for action. Functions such as photo documentation and AI-supported plant identification make it easy to get started, even without in-depth specialist knowledge.

The seminar tested whether and how this digital index is received by companies during an excursion to the housing company ProPotsdam GmbH. The result of this practical test: the app was rated as user-friendly and relevant.

Results and outlook

For Franziska Lichter, the results are positive: the project shows how digital tools can facilitate the promotion of biodiversity in companies. It not only offers a platform for assessment and planning, but also supports the fulfilment of regulatory requirements such as the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). "With the development of the mock-up, we have taken an important step towards providing companies with a tool that makes biodiversity measurable and realisable," says the project manager.

Frauke Adesiyan