Strong female craftswomen Energy + Efficiency

Women entrepreneurs in the skilled trades want to make a measurable contribution to climate protection. In a team with IZT scientists, they developed and tested market-ready energy-efficient services. This was one of several IZT projects as part of the "National Climate Protection Initiative". The final event took place on 14 October 2016 in Berlin. The results of the project - 15 services - were clearly presented in a public brochure.

More information can be found on the project website: www.starke-handwerkerinnen.de

On the conception of the research project:

The skilled crafts sector is making a significant contribution to realising the German government's climate protection goals - but its potential is far from exhausted. New solutions can be systematically developed, especially with innovative services - also in co-operation with other companies or at the interface to the consumer. The overarching aim of this project proposal was to realise this potential with and for women entrepreneurs in the skilled trades sector. The multipliers here were associations and businesswomen who were self-employed in the skilled trades, were master craftswomen or the wives, partners, daughters or daughters-in-law who worked in the business and were typically fully involved in the decision-making processes of the company.

The systematic development of services was chosen as the procedural model. Networking and active public relations work were the stabilisation elements. The progress of the project was continuously evaluated in terms of its benefits for climate protection and efficiency.

Today, the promotion of climate protection and energy efficiency by the skilled trades is primarily linked to the sale and installation of energy-efficient systems and processes. The best-known example of this is the energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings. Small and medium-sized craft businesses provide (certified) energy (efficiency) services here by providing information and advice to households, trade and industry. However, the possibilities of services in the craft sector for climate protection and energy efficiency go much further: the examples of "small system contracting" or heat supply (in cooperation with the energy industry) show that innovations with services, consumer orientation and partnerships with third parties offer great potential for increasing the renovation rate. Innovative services based on information and communication technologies - discussed under the keyword "smart home" - can also make a significant contribution to energy efficiency and be disseminated on the market by the skilled trades.

Energy (efficiency) services - like products and processes - can be systematically developed. This is a key finding of the German government's service research, which is known as "service engineering". Service engineering is, according to Bullinger/Scheer, the systematic development and design of services with the aid of suitable models and tools. It helps to specify, define and structure the development process for services. The economic benefit lies in the fact that services are now designed systematically and holistically. According to Harms, the "Service Engineering" process model has been tried and tested in medium-sized companies.

The project deliberately focussed on women entrepreneurs and master craftswomen. In around 85 per cent of all craft businesses an entrepreneurial woman is the "soul of the company" - and of innovation. This was stated by Federal Minister Dr Christine Bergmann on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the UHF in Berlin. Around 8,000 businesswomen in the skilled trades have joined the Organisation of Women Entrepreneurs in the Skilled Trades (UFH) throughout Germany. According to a study by the Ludwig Fröhler Institute, 30 per cent of employees in the skilled trades are women.