Common good

We measure our company’s success not just in the usual way, by means of a balance sheet, but also through our contribution to the common good. That means: For us, at the end of the year, we don’t just ask about our growth and profits, but also what effects our activity has had on humans, nature and the environment – promoting the “Economy for the Common Good”.

What is the Economy for the Common Good (ECG)?

The Economy for the Common Good is an economic model and a movement developed by various actors in Bavaria, Austria and South Tyrol and taken up by author Christian Felber in his 2010 book “The Economy for the Common Good”. The idea: If we build our economic system on values such as cooperation and solidarity instead of competition and maximising profits, we can measure the values that really count for our society. The goal is, therefore, to move from a capitalist economic mode directed towards growth and profits to an economic model where the common good is first and foremost.

The common good balance sheet

If, in the past, measuring ethical criteria for a company was truly difficult, thanks to the creation of a so-called “common good balance sheet” we are now able to represent “soft” factors in figures.

Companies that create a common good balance sheet are assessed by these criteria. To put it simply: You get bonus points for actions promoting the common good and deductions for any harm to the common good. A maximum of 1000 points can be achieved.

The measurement relates to various target groups such as suppliers, owners & financial partners, employees, customers & fellow companies and the entire social environment, and is consequently a great effort to draw up. We, as a company, first create a common good report in which we describe our activities and efforts to increase the common good. The common good balance sheet is then audited just like our financial results, but not by a financial auditor, but by a common good auditor. The result of this assessment is given in a certificate that we receive at the end of the process and which is valid for two years.

Common good at TAOASIS

We identify strongly with company leadership oriented towards the common good, because ethical and ecological aspects are decisive for our business and Nachhaltigkeit ist seit jeher fest in der TAOASIS-DNA verankert. After a personal meeting between our founder and managing director Axel Meyer and CGE co-founder Christian Felber in 2011, it became clear to us that we wanted to demonstrate the measures we had taken publicly and put them to the test. As one of the first companies to draw up a balance sheet under ECG rules in Germany, we created our first common good balance sheet for 2015 and 2016, achieving what at the time was a magnificent 629 points. We use every report to reflect on our business activities, find where our potential lies, and of course to detect weaknesses and areas for improvement.