Data-based sustainability strategies: How Weidmüller makes its goals measurable

24 representatives from eleven companies and four research institutions came together at Weidmüller Interface GmbH & Co. KG in Detmold for the third meeting of the industry working group as part of the it's OWL project 'DualStrat - Strategic Management of Dual Transformation'. The focus was on the data-based management of a sustainability strategy.



Smart Industrial Connectivity: Electrification, automation, digitalization, electrical connection technology, electromobility and renewable energies are markets in which Weidmüller is at home. Founded in 1850, the family-owned company is represented in over 80 countries with production facilities and sales companies.

it's OWL Clustermanagement GmbH

Hendrik Fahrenwald

Hendrik Fahrenwald

Presse- und Marketingreferent

Content Blocks

How Weidmüller implements its sustainability strategy

Agile methods were used to achieve this goal, such as sprint-oriented and incremental project planning according to Scrum, consisting of product owners, Scrum masters and development teams. This leads to rapid adaptation in the recording of key figures and at the same time to good team dynamics. Two weeks of preparation and two weeks of targeted work in the sprint are scheduled. The team itself consists of employees from Sustainability, Controlling / Business Intelligence and the necessary specialist departments. Global key figures on the key topics are made usable with the help of PowerBI. PowerBI is Microsoft software that helps companies to analyze data from various sources, prepare it visually and present it in interactive dashboards in order to make better decisions.



The challenge of data management: making optimum use of existing systems



Master data quality is a decisive factor in the selection of KPIs. A digital connection to existing data or a query of the individual countries / specialist departments is carried out via PowerApps or SharePoint lists. In addition, there is close coordination with the specialist departments on the individual points of the ESRS.



A major hurdle is always the issue of 'data', i.e. its collection and processing. Existing data must be transferred to new systems. This raises the question of whether new software systems are required for this. Weidmüller has decided to work entirely with existing systems such as SharePoint and PowerBI.

What happens next?

The fourth meeting of the industry working group will take place on Wednesday, April 09, 2025. It will be hosted by Schmitz Cargobull AG in Vreden.



The project results will be successively made available to all interested parties on the it's OWL innovation platform:  https://plattform.its-owl.de 





Wuppertal Institute presents ESRS data management tool



Andres Alcayaga from the Wuppertal Institute presented the ESRS data management tool developed in the project. This Excel tool supports companies in implementing the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The aim is to simplify the aggregation and management of the required sustainability data. To this end, it offers a clear presentation of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) to guide companies through the regulation like a red thread.Andres Alcayaga from the Wuppertal Institute presents the ESRS data management tool developed in the it's OWL project.



The tool covers the General Disclosures of ESRS 2 including Minimum Disclosure Requirements as well as all topic-related standards. In addition, it provides a clear translation as well as numerous implementation notes and word definitions to convert the complicated standards into a manageable format suitable for everyday use. The materiality analysis is not part of this tool, but is a prerequisite for use.



The Excel tool is available on the it's OWL innovation platform.



 To the Excel tool from DualStrat 

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