Werner Lampert: In order to make progress in sustainability, we need to tackle the issue from a socio-political perspective. How do we deal with the weakest members of society? I don't want to talk about sustainability as long as the school system and education are in a mess, I don't want to talk about sustainability when I see that every economic crisis is immediately siphoned off into the social sphere!
We won't get a millimeter further if we just sit at home! Young people need to show socio-political solidarity.
Whatneeds to happen for a sustainability movement to emerge?
Susanne Mairhofer: Protests arise when it affects you. The outcry comes when things are really bad for us, then we realize that we have to act. Nevertheless, I believe that it is important to take small steps, such as eating an organic diet. I alone cannot change society, but my environment can!
Lampert: The really interesting movements come about when you are free, otherwise fear and anger take control. The conditions you have today are ideal! Now we are still in a situation where we can change something. In the future, no matter which politician you elect, we will not be able to negotiate with climate change.
Lisa Vockenhuber: Everyone has to look today at how they can pass on access to sustainability to the next generation.
Manuel Hahn: It is important to start educational measures in kindergarten.
Christina Steinbacher: We have to appreciate what we have and not live lavishly! It's about food and clothing.
Lampert: When it comes to clothing, we are already immersed in the socio-political issue. When you buy a few euros' worth of clothing, you know full well that it was produced on the basis of exploitation. Couldn't emotion and awareness be brought together to motivate people to inform themselves?
Katharina Skarabela: But where do you raise awareness? I know from teacher friends that parents nowadays give their children a Leberkäsesemmel and potato chips to take to school because it's convenient. They also buy too much and throw it away.
Katharina Knapp: We have to point out that although we are still doing well, we are already in a bad way! Let's communicate the long-term damage that we are heading for if we don't act immediately!
Lampert: One possibility would be to deal with greenwashing by spreading the word online. That could create awareness and encourage an outcry.
Raphaela Steiner: My approach is that positive communication is important. Greenwashing has too negative a connotation.
Let's take a look at the Styrian volcanic region. 25 years ago, it was one of the poorest regions in Austria. Today, the region has a cultural and culinary identity and now wants to become a bioregion. Shared visions can bring about change!
Knapp: It is also necessary for laws to be implemented holistically -ecologically, socially and economically. The economy for the common good would be one approach, but not many people are aware of it yet.
Lampert: The sustainability of countries and companies is like our personal sustainability. There are aspects where you are very sustainable, and then there are others where you don't like to talk about it, where your own sustainability balance sheet looks very dull again. You don't have to be embarrassed, you have to understand that sustainability is a process and work through one point at a time.
Mairhofer: But that brings us back to the topic of positive communication, which is important for people's psyche.
Whatencourages you to take action yourself, where do you get your knowledge from?
Mairhofer: For years I worked on a project in schools that was about teaching children how to save energy in a fun way, then the economic crisis hit and the first thing that was canceled was the school project!
Skarabela: My parents have a driving school where we focus heavily on electromobility. This helps us to raise awareness among young drivers.
Plank: WU has a lot of fantastic lectures to offer, but unfortunately they are all electives.
Lisa Knapp: I've been a vegetarian myself for a long time. We had a compulsory subject where we visited a slaughterhouse. The animals were supposedly just as calm as in the barn, but the animals were foaming at the mouth. The smell of blood and disinfectant was overwhelming, these animals must have sensed their predicament. This experience had a huge impact on all of us.
Whatpower does the consumer have?
Lampert: Consumers have all the power! As soon as a movement happens, there will be no resistance from retailers. Take genetic engineering, for example: consumers in Europe don't want it.
Hahn: The aim would be to transform unconscious consumption into conscious consumption. The use of digital channels would be important, via cell phone apps etc.
Ralph Kropfreiter: The more you know, the more difficult it becomes, then you stand in the supermarket and no longer know what to buy.
Skarabela: I'm just afraid that many people can't afford sustainable goods.
Lampert: But if you look into the shopping baskets of people who are under financial pressure, you will be amazed.
Vockenhuber: That's right, it's a question of priorities! Seasonal food is affordable!
Steinbacher: A kilo of organic apples from the Waldviertel costs 60 cents! Potato chips and fast food are more expensive!
Mairhofer : There is a change in thinking in our generation. I'm observing this in my environment - people are cooking more and more themselves. Some people not only need to be educated about conscious nutrition, but also financial education.
Do you haveany questions for Werner Lampert?
Hahn: What is your vision for the future?
Werner Lampert: At the beginning, I wanted to develop the concept of Back to the origin for countries, but the public institutions didn't have the courage. My aim is for two or three countries in Europe to have adopted this concept in twenty years' time.
Organic should be linked to regionality, to regional value creation. Farmers should understand who they are producing for, consumers should know the farmers, that is what we are working on.
Steinbacher: Why does advertising always paint an idyllic picture that no longer exists?
Lampert: You reach consumers either through "cheap" or through emotions.
In our case, however, we have never made a posed farmer. For example, we have a farmer who has the impetus that his cows have horns. He was seriously injured by a cow that had become frightened, yet there is no question in his mind that his cows will not be dehorned. The passion, this bond, it still exists! We don't have to invent it for advertising.
Closing words
Lampert: The first big momentum in the organic sector came from the farmers first, now it has to come from the consumers. You are all at a wonderful age! You have a great future ahead of you!
Werner Lampert (born 1946 in Vorarlberg/Austria) is one of the pioneers in the field of sustainable products and their development in Europe. The organic pioneer has been intensively involved in organic farming since the 1970s. With Back to the origin (Hofer) and Ja! Natürlich, he developed two of the most successful organic brands in the German-speaking world.
