Projects

In order to enable horticultural companies to operate in a more sustainable manner, it is essential to independently and transparently define what sustainability means for the various sectors of horticulture. However, sustainability assessment systems that meet these high requirements and integrate the three dimensions of 'social,' 'ecological,' and 'economic' are either not yet available for horticulture or remain largely unknown to many stakeholders in the sector. 

As part of this project, a scientific basis for sustainable development in horticulture and a prototype for a sustainability assessment system will be developed. The modular approach, which takes into account the unique characteristics of different horticultural value chains, is intended to enable application across various specialist areas within horticulture. The foundation of the assessment is a catalogue of indicators that reflect the sector-specific characteristics of horticulture. Experts will define reference values for each indicator, which will then be used to assess sustainability in practice. Through a participatory process, various stakeholders will be involved via a multi-stakeholder committee, interviews and workshops. 

Team at the CBMH: Dr. Marike Isaak, Robert Luer, Iris Hattenbach, Pierre Adrian Filohn, Luise Knauber

Project duration: 01.05.2024 - 30.04.2027

Funding organisation: Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL)

Project manager: Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE)

Please contact us by e-mail: nachhaltigkeit-gartenbau@uni-hohenheim.de

Business decisions in German horticultural companies are largely based on experience and intuition. Controlling is rarely used and not very intensively. This is due to the lack of business knowledge and the difficulty to recognize the benefits in relation to the effort. Digital technologies in the areas of data acquisition, processing and integration offer potential for information and controlling systems to reduce the effort of data management and to rationalize decision processes. The research project will investigate how digital transformation can act as a driver for controlling in horticulture.<o:p></o:p>

Files for download:

Presentation - 59. Betriebswirtschaftliche ZBG Fachtagung 2021, Thema "App-basiertes Controlling als Werkzeug in der Entscheidungsfindung – Ein Treiber für betriebswirtschaftliches Engagement im Gartenbau?"

conference contribution - Digitale Transformation als Treiber von Controlling im Gartenbau – ein konzeptioneller Ansatz, in (M. Gandorfer, C. Hoffmann, N. El Benni, M. Cockburn, T. Anken, H. Floto, Hrsg.): Referate der 42. GIL-Jahrestagung in Tänikon (virtuell), 21.-22. Februar 2022, Lecture Notes in Informatics (LNI)-Proceedings Vol. 317, Bonn, S. 201-206

Presentation - 55. Gartenbauwissenschaftliche Tagung 2023, Thema "Wie werden Nachwuchsführungskräfte im Gartenbau im Zuge der Meisterfortbildung an den Nutzen betriebswirtschaftlicher Praktiken herangeführt und wie werden dazu digitale Technologien eingesetzt?"

Article - Digitale betriebswirtschaftliche Werkzeuge – Unterstützung für den Obstbau, Gartenbauprofi 05/2022, S. 18-17

Luis Müller

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important issue in society, not only in food production, but also in ornamental plant production. In addition to consumers, stakeholders and investors increasingly expect transparency on sustainability issues. In agriculture, many sustainability assessment systems have been in place since the 1990s, but these are still lacking for all sectors of horticulture. The research project will develop a sustainability assessment system for pot plant production. It will also investigate the background to the decision-making processes involved in sustainability assessment.

Files for download:

Poster - Bioökonomie-Camp 2021, "Sustainability assessment in horticulture"

Presentation - IHC 2022 Angers, "Communication of sustainability in horticulture – What messages do consumers currently perceive and what expectation do they have regarding sustainability?"

Luise Knauber