Climate Neutrality in German Family Firms: Current Trends and Developments

Abstract

The decarbonization of the economy is one of the most pressing challenges for governments in Germany and around the world to address the climate crisis. To achieve the German goal of climate neutrality by 2050, it will be crucial to find the appropriate policies to promote the process of decarbonization. An area that has received little attention thus far is the role of family firms in this process. This paper examines the status quo of German family firms in the process of setting and implementing climate targets, based on a survey of 600 German family and non-family firms. Our results show how differently the targets, efforts, motivations, and challenges are perceived by these firms. We find that small family firms lag behind non-family firms in setting targets, while larger family firms are currently catching up. We investigate the influence of motivational factors and challenges on the setting of climate protection targets by using a binary logistic regression analysis. Results indicate that family firms are less likely to set targets, while company size and intrinsic motivation positively influence this. Economic challenges, while being significant, do not hinder the establishment of climate targets.