On 17 April 2024, the fifth h_da Dialogue Forum took place at the Schader Forum in Darmstadt as part of the Darmstadt Days of Transformation. It included a panel on "Post-growth economy for small and medium-sized enterprises", which sparked a lively discussion if and how a post growth economy can work for SMEs or if, taking the post-growth perspective, it might even be the only possible solution to tackle the triple planetary crisis. Susanne Langsdorf, Senior Fellow at the Ecologic Institute in Berlin, explained the potential role of circular economy solutions to tackle the challenges and elaborated on the current political activities on national and European level to transform to a green(er) economy.

The other experts on the podium:

• Nancy Frehse, founder and managing director of Oktopulli GmbH, Berlin
• Prof. Dr. Ulrich Klüh from Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences
• Prof. Dr. Niko Paech from the University of Siegen
• Dr. Sandra Wolf, Managing Director of Riese & Müller, Darmstadt

Prof. Dr. Thomas Döring from Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and Dr. Kirsten Mensch from the Schader Foundation acted as moderators.

The event began with an introduction by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Klüh, followed by a presentation by Prof. Dr. Niko Paech, one of the leading representatives of the post-growth economy in Germany. The discussion focused, among other things, on how company strategies and management must adapt, what risks and opportunities exist and how alternative economic models can be implemented.