Veranstaltungen

Title: Social Product Declarations: Assessing the Social Sustainability Performance of Products throughout their Life Cycle

Speaker:  Professor Marzia Traverso, RWTH Aachen

Date & Time: 14 January 2026, 16:00-18:00

Location: Online (request link via gsvc@hwr-berlin.de) and Campus Lichtenberg, room House 6B, Room 6B259.

Social Product Declarations (SPDs) represent a good way to assess, compare and communicate the social sustainability performance of products considering the entire life cycle. Based on Social Life Cycle Assessments (S-LCAs), they highlight impacts of a product lifecycle on different stakeholders such as: workers, local communities and users. In 2023, the world’s first Product Category Rules (PCR) for SPDs, and the first ever SPD, was published thanks to the support of Hitachi Rail and Circular Srl (GmbH in Italy). The project was led by Prof. Marzia Traverso, director of INaB RWTH Aachen University – the guest lecturer of this session. The lecture gives insights into the concept of SPDs, their development as well as benefits and challenges that arise during their formation and usage.

Marzia Traverso is a full Professor and head of Chair and Institute of Sustainability in Civil Engineering in RWTH Aachen since 2017. She holds a PhD in Environmental Technical Physics from the University of Palermo. Furthermore, Professor Traverso is an environmental engineer, working in the field of Life Cycle Assessment and sustainability performance of building and transport sector and strategic environmental assessment to the transportation urban systems.

Title: Responsible Contracting, LkSG & CSDDD – Lessons Learned from Practice

Speaker:  Daniel Schönfelder, Responsible Contracting Project

Date & Time: 3 December 2025,16:00-18:00

Location: Online (request link via gsvc@hwr-berlin.de) and Campus Lichtenberg, room House 6B, Room 6B259.

The LkSG & CSDDD oblige companies to implement HREDD procedures in their supply chains. Responsible Contracting describes an approach of doing this in a way that incentivizes collaboration and openness, as well as sharing of risks and responsibilities. It emphasizes not only supplier, but also buyer responsibilities, including on responsible purchasing practices. The lecturer will share his learnings from his practice of implementing LkSG, CSDDD & Responsible Contracting with companies and associations of different sizes and continents and bring some practical exercises to sparkle joint discussion and learning.

Daniel Schönfelder is a lawyer and lecturer in Business and Human Rights. He also works as the Lead European Legal Advisor for the Responsible Contracting Project and in-house on implementing the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.

This lecture is part of our Lecture Series in the winter semester 25/26. Find the full program here.

17–18 November 2025 | HWR Campus Lichtenberg, Berlin 

Wissenschaftliche Konferenz des HWR-Forschungskompetenzzentrums: Herausforderungen und Resilienz Globaler Liefer- und Wertschöpfungsketten

Globale Liefer- und Wertschöpfungsketten sind ein zentraler Schauplatz gesellschaftlicher Auseinandersetzungen. Sie verbinden Produktion und Konsum über Ländergrenzen hinweg, schaffen Wohlstand, werfen aber zugleich Fragen nach Nachhaltigkeit, Verantwortung und Macht auf. In Politik, Wirtschaft und Wissenschaft wird intensiv darüber diskutiert, wie Lieferketten reguliert, gestaltet oder verändert werden sollten. Ziel der Konferenz ist es, unterschiedliche Perspektiven auf Wertschöpfungsketten zusammenzubringen – von rechtlichen und ökonomischen bis hin zu soziologischen, politikwissenschaftlichen und kulturwissenschaftlichen Ansätzen.

Programm

17. November, 11-19:30 Uhr

18. November, 9:30-13:30 Uhr

Title: Industry Dialogues as Strategy to Implement Due Diligence Legislation

Speaker:  Maren Leifker, United Nations Global Compact

Date & Time: 12 November 2025, 16:00-18:00

Location: Online (request link via gsvc@hwr-berlin.de) and Campus Lichtenberg, room House 6B, Room 6B259.

In recent years, so-called Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) have proliferated. These instruments enable companies to exchange knowledge and experiences on sector-specific risks, involve stakeholders, and pool leverage in order to jointly address structural challenges in global supply chains. They are therefore often regarded as effective mechanisms for the implementation of due diligence standards.

At the same time, MSIs are subject to critical scrutiny. Many are considered insufficient in delivering measurable sustainability outcomes and, in particular, in improving the situation of rights-holders.

The lecture will explore these debates and provide a practice-oriented insight into the Automotive Sector Dialogue, a flagship initiative launched by the German government in 2020. 

Maren Leifker is a lawyer with a PhD on corporate liability under the CSDDD. She has extensive experience in business and human rights, including her role as Senior Policy Advisor at the German NGO Brot für die Welt and as a civil society representative on the BAFA stakeholder advisory board. Since July 1, she has been with the UN Global Compact Network Germany, coordinating the Sector Dialogue with the automotive industry.

This lecture is part of our Lecture Series in the winter semester 25/26. Find the full program here.

Veranstaltung des Zentralreferat Forschungsförderung, der Forschungskommissionen der Fachbereiche 1-5 und der Vizepräsidentin für Forschung und Transfer.

Mittwoch, 12. November 2025, 13.30 – 15:00 Uhr 

Anmeldung erwünscht, bitte an forschung@hwr-berlin.de 

Moderation: Jelena Hoffmann, HWR Forschungskompetenzzentrum: Herausforderungen und Resilienz globaler Liefer- und Wertschöpfungsketten

Programm

Title: The Victim Territories of CO2 Neutrality for Electric Cars in Brazil

Speaker:  Prof. Klemens Laschefski, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil

Date & Time: 8 October 2025, 16:00-18:00

Location: Online (request link via gsvc@hwr-berlin.de) and Campus Lichtenberg, room 1.4098

Brazil, which is hosting this year’s World Climate Conference (COP30), presents itself as an innovative supplier of the raw materials needed for ‚CO₂ neutrality‘ and ‚energy transition‘ strategies. One of the most ambitious, but also most controversial, projects in this context is certainly the exploitation of lithium deposits in the Jequitinhonha Valley, which are needed for the production of batteries for electric mobility. Less attention is paid to rare earths and very common metals such as niobium, copper, aluminum, and iron ore, which are necessary for the production of new cars, regardless of their drive type, and which are all abundant in Minas Gerais and regions such as Grande Carajas. Added to this are the strategies for CO₂ neutrality in mining and metal processing companies, which are intended to achieve the use of supposedly renewable fuels such as ethanol from sugar cane, biodiesel from oilseeds, and hydrogen in their machine and vehicle fleets. The production of hydrogen relies on the consumption of large amounts of electrical energy, which is to be generated by gigantic photovoltaic farms, hydroelectric power plants, and wind farms. Finally, the production of ‘green steel’ in Brazil traditionally relies on charcoal obtained from eucalyptus monocultures.

The presentation will address the consequences of land grabbing at the starting point of the supply chains for electric and other vehicles. The focus will be on an immense colonization drive in previously unexploited territories belonging to indigenous and traditional communities, particularly in the Cerrado (Brazilian savannah), which has been largely ignored in the international climate debate.

Klemens Laschefski ist Professor für Politische Ökologie und Mitglied der Studiengruppe für Umweltfragen (Grupo de Estudos em Temáticas Ambientais – GESTA) an der Bundesuniversität von Minas Gerais (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais – UFMG). Er ist Stipendiat des Programms zur Förderung der Forschungsproduktivität (PQ) des Nationalen Rates für wissenschaftliche und technologische Entwicklung (CNPq).
Zurzeit arbeitet er zu den im Vortrag angesprochenen Themen im Rahmen des Projekts „Local, Indigenous, Quilombola and Traditional Communities and the construction of the „Lithium Valley“ in Minas Gerais, Brazil: Empowering silenced voices in the energy transition (LIQUIT)“, finanziert von der The British Academy, CNPq – Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico und der FAPEMIG – Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais.

This lecture is part of our Lecture Series in the winter semester 25/26. Find the full program here.

Title: A multidimensional sustainability governance approach – The case of the German Supply Chain Act in the Brazilian Battery Value Chain

Speaker: Helena Gräf (HWR Berlin)

Date & Time: 08 July 2025, 18:00-20:00

Location: HWR Berlin, B5.12

Title: Human Rights Due Diligence Laws: Some Reflections on the
Prospects and Challenges with Reference to India

Speaker: Praveen Jha (Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India)

Date & Time: 17 June 2025, 18:00-20:00

Location: HWR Berlin, Campus Schöneberg, Room B 5.12

Members of the HWR Competence Center present research at the ECPR Conference in Berlin

The Biennial Conference of our Standing Group on Regulatory Governance, held at the Hertie School of Governance from June 11 to June 13, 2025, in Berlin, stands as Europe’s premier interdisciplinary gathering focused on regulation and regulatory governance and aims to foster discussion and further developments with an international scientific community. This year’s theme, “Beyond the regulatory state?”, examined the legitimacy of regulatory systems amidst global (geo-) political, economic, and technological transformations. The conference also revisited Giandomenico Majone’s (1994) seminal work on the regulatory state in light of recent developments.

Keynote speeches were held by Arancha González, Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po and former Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as Prof. Dr. Michael Zürn, Director of the Global Governance Unit at WZB Berlin and Professor of International Relations at Freie Universität Berlin. 

Prof. Dr. Christina Teipen, Principal Investigator Cluster B, reflected on Zürns’s contribution: “Prof. Dr. Michael Zürn made the striking observation that the number of non-majoritarian agencies has continued to grow, while state expenditures have decreased. The “normative criticism of the regulatory state” could possibly be countered with more public spending on public infrastructure.”

The Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR Berlin) was represented by members of the newly established DFG-funded Research Competence Centre Challenges and Resilience of Global Supply and Value Chains and hosted a panel titled “Regulatory Challenges and Gaps for Global Supply and Value Chains”, moderated by Prof. Dr. Hartmut Aden and Prof. Dr. Christina Teipen. The panel featured interdisciplinary research from political science, political economy, sociology, criminology, and legal studies, focusing on new and evolving forms of regulation, as well as persistent gaps and challenges. 

In addition, HWR Berlin scholars contributed to the panel on “The Politics of Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence: Policy Development and Contestations in a Shifting (Geo)Political Landscape”.

• Christina Teipen and Helena Gräf gave a presentation on “Asymmetric North-South State Capabilities: Industrial Policies in the Automotive Global Value Chains”. Related publications:

Gräf, H. (2024). A Regulatory‐Developmental Turn Within EU Industrial Policy? The Case of the Battery IPCEIs’, Politics and Governance, 12. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.8188

Jha, P., Herr, H., De Conti, B., Teipen, C., Gräf, H. (2025). Industrial Trajectories in the Brazilian and Indian Auto Sectors. In: Krzywdzinski, M., Lechowski, G., Humphrey, J., Pardi, T. (eds) Global Shifts in the Automotive Sector. Palgrave Studies of Internationalization in Emerging Markets. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-80641-4_10

• Artemisa Ljarja and Stefanie Lorenzen presented on the topic of “Can Due Diligence Laws Payout for Workers? – Effects of Regulation Design and Contextual Factors for the Indian Apparel Industry”.
• Hartmut Aden, Matthias Kötter and Jelena Hoffmann [add website link in final report] talked about “Establishing New Complaints Mechanisms for Supply Chain Due Diligence”.
• Tamara Dangelmaier presented her work co-authored with Daniela Hunold on “Protests, Police and Resilience in Global Supply Chains – A Sociological Perspective”.
• Christian Hilpert spoke about his joint work with Mischa Hansel and Vincenz Leuschner on the “Political discourse and regulatory challenges of threats to supply chains in the wake of the Russian attack on Ukraine”.
• Markus Schultze-Kraft discussed his work, on the topic “Beyond regulation? Opacity in global value chains”.

Overall, the conference provided a stimulating environment for scholarly exchange and offered numerous opportunities for future cooperation, especially for early career researchers.

“The conference was very inspiring and provided a great opportunity to present own work, learn about most current research, and to initiate new professional ties”, Tamara Dangelmaier, Helena Gräf, and Jelena Hoffmann.

Title: Demand and Growth Regimes and the Structure of International Trade in Selected Countries: a Macroeconomic Framework for the Analysis of Global Value Chains

Speakers: Prof. Dr. Eckhard Hein & Juan Manuel Campana (HWR Berlin)

Date & Time: 14 May 2025, 16:00-18:00

Location: HWR Berlin, Campus Schöneberg, Room B 4.01

Title: The Return of Labor Casualization in Ports

Speaker: Prof. (em.) Dr. Christoph Scherrer (University of Kassel)

Date & Time: 24 April 2025, 18:00-20:00

Location: HWR Berlin, Campus Schöneberg, Room B 5.12

Title: Brazil: The Current Economic and Geopolitical Scenario, and the Impacts on Its Positioning in the GVCs

Speaker: Bruno De Conti (UNICAMP, Brazil)

Date & Time: 26 February 2025, 16:00-18:00

Location: HWR Berlin, Campus Schöneberg, Room B 5.44

Fotos: Kathrin Heller

Die globalen Liefer- und Wertschöpfungsketten stehen heute vor beispiellosen Herausforderungen. Das neue HWR Berlin Forschungskompetenzzentrum wird in den kommenden Jahren hierzu forschen. Mit der Kick-off Konferenz startete Ende November ein breiter Dialog mit interessiertem Fachpublikum über das Thema „Herausforderungen und Resilienz globaler Liefer- und Wertschöpfungsketten“ 

Fachpublikum aus Wissenschaft, NGOs und Ministerien

Kontrovers diskutierten die Wissenschaftler*innen und Mitarbeiter*innen von Stiftungen und Bundesministerien drängende Fragen zu Liefer- und Wertschöpfungsketten. Fokus am Dienstag waren die Auswirkungen auf die gesamtwirtschaftliche Nachfrage, das Wirtschaftswachstum und wie diese polit-ökonomisch erklärt werden können und die wirtschaftlichen Transformationsprozesse seit der Covid19-Pandemie. Neben forschungsstarken Wissenschaftler*innen der HWR präsentierten Bruno De Conti von der Landesuniversität von Campinas (Brasilien), Gale Raj-Reichert vom Bard College Berlin und Joonkoo Lee von der Hanyang Universität (Südkorea) ihre Forschungsarbeiten.

Rohstoffe, Nachhaltigkeit und Digitalisierung

Und auch am zweiten Tage wurd lebhaft diskutiert über die Themen Nachhaltigkeit von Wertschöpfungskette, kritische Rohstoffe, Digitalisierung und illegale Lieferketten. Zur außer- und inneruniversitären Konversation trugen Morgane Fritz von der Excelia Business School in La Rochelle (Frankreich), Nele Kampffmeyer vom Öko-Institut Berlin, Johanna Sydow von der Heinrich-Böll Stiftung, Finn Schufft von der NGO Germanwatch, Florian Butollo vom Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin und Inga Carry von der Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik bei.

Ort: HWR Berlin Campus Schöneberg

Organisiert von der Growth Regime Working Group des IPE Berlin und Cluster B in Kooperation mit der Young Scholars Initiative.

Dieser Workshop zielt darauf ab, die laufende Debatte über divergierende Nachfrage- und Wachstumsregime (DGRs) innerhalb und zwischen den Bereichen der postkeynesianischen Ökonomie, marxistischen Ansätzen, der Regulierungsschule, der Dependenztheorie, der vergleichenden politischen Ökonomie, der internationalen politischen Ökonomie und anderen kritischen Perspektiven der politischen Ökonomie zu fördern. Unser Ziel ist es, die Debatte über Nachfrage- und Wachstumsregime zu erweitern, insbesondere entlang der folgenden Unterthemen:

• DGRs und die Struktur der Produktion
• DGRs und Industriepolitik
• Politische Ökonomie von DGRs
• Dynamik von DGRs
• Elemente von progressiven Nachfrage- und Wachstumsregimen

Diese Unterthemen werden durch theoretische Beiträge aus den verschiedenen Perspektiven der politischen Ökonomie sowie durch empirische Beiträge untersucht, die von großen Stichproben bis zu vergleichenden und Einzelfallstudien von Ländern des globalen Nordens und Südens reichen.

Die Dokumentation des Workshops findet sich auf der Seite des IPE.