Waking the sleeping giant: How to tap the social economy’s potential for climate protection

In their publication, the working group emphasizes that a central challenge for investments to flow is the complicated (re-)financing structure in companies in the social economy. "If social enterprises were to make energy improvements in their buildings that are financed from their own funding sources, and such investments led to cost reductions, a self-cost-based financing system would also reduce the reimbursable cost estimates of the social enterprises that are financed by the responsible players and funders", explains Prof. Dr. Bernd Halfar, former Professor of Management in Social and Health Care Institutions and shareholder of Kamel&Nadelöhr GmbH. Secondly, in order to give social enterprises an incentive to renovate and to demonstrate a possible way of amortization, the project team advocates for coverage of previous energy costs for a period of at least five years after the renovation has been carried out. After this period, an adjustment to the current energy costs could take place.

Thirdly, in addition to expanding social legislation and implementing a solid re-financing strategy for investments in renovations, the authors of the paper also call for the integration of a social economy strategy into the European and federal policy savings targets for CO2 emissions. With regard to the quantity targets, the federal government, as a climate policy actor, is called upon to define specific savings targets and the political price for a ton of carbon dioxide saved for the social economy properties. As a direct incentive for timely investments, the working group suggests introducing certificate trading for the social economy. The certificates would represent the emission costs of a property on a cut-off date and lose their validity at a fixed time. Until then, social enterprises would have the opportunity to reduce their emissions – as a prerequisite for selling the certificates back to the state at a profit. "Introducing certificate trading for the social economy could be seen as a regulatory innovation that links the potential of the social and health economy to new social entrepreneurial options for action", emphasizes Professor Zerth. He adds that a dual strategy would have to be promoted: the integration of the sustainability goal into social legislation and a certificate system as a "booster" for costs that are not "negotiable under social law".