Increased internationality and more decision-makers: E-world energy & water established itself even more as the leading fair for the energy industry. With the motto Smart City and Energy Solutions, the energy sector met in Essen from 5th to 7th February. At our stand in Hall 2 we were able to welcome many visitors, acquaintances and friends from the industry as well as former and perhaps some new colleagues. While enjoying delicious blueberry muffins we had interesting conversations.

This year we focussed on topics like the implementation of the GDPR, market liberalisation in Eastern Europe, the future viability of companies and a new customer focus in the sense of adapted marketing strategies. The third day of the fair was once again dedicated to applicants.

Fascinating challenges such as e-mobility, renewable energies, digitisation and agile business models in times of change were discussed. We are eager to see which of the trends will prevail in the future and look forward to successfully shaping these challenges together with our customers.

We would like to thank you for three impressive days in Essen and look forward to seeing you again – at the latest at E-world 2020.

“What will the future of energy supply for households look like?” Andreas Pointvogl tried to answer this exciting question at the Global Power & Energy Exhibition on 18th September in Barcelona.

During the technical part of the day, he presented BLUBERRIES’ competences in new business models, future regulatory and technical developments, and its impacts on tariffs to the audience of one of the largest energy exhibitions world-wide. Andreas pointed out what opportunities and challenges arise for the energy industry as a consequence of current trends in this sector. We thank our hosts for this energizing day and want to integrate the input into successful future projects.

The workshop was offered by BLUBERRIES and the Verband Schleswig-Holsteiner Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft (VSHEW – federation of Schleswig-Holstein energy and water management). At the event, which was hosted in Nortorf, Schleswig-Holstein, intensive discussions about trends and challenges of the digitalisation in the energy sector took place. BLUBERRIES presented practical concepts and strategies on how municipal utilities (Stadtwerke) can master these challenges.

One of the highlights was the presentation of chat bots developed by BLUBERRIES, which are able to work in different fields of the working environment of municipal utilities.

BLUBERRIES is participating in a certification programme for climate-neutral companies since the beginning of the year and supports several climate protection projects in Taiwan, China and India.

In a first step, the emissions generated in 2017 were offset. A total of 417 tonnes of CO₂ were compensated for this. The certification now must be renewed in order to remain recognized as a climate-neutral company. This process is currently being prepared and once the evaluation of emissions for 2018 is completed, BLUBERRIES will seek recertification. More information about the climate protection projects supported by BLUBERRIES and the certification can be found here.

Great Place to Work is a leading expert in promoting an attractive and forward-looking workplace culture. The internationally recognized “Great Place to Work Certified” programme follows transparent and internationally proven standards. Basis of the certification is an anonymous employee survey on the quality of their work experience as well as an analysis of personal development measures. The results provide companies with valuable new insights for designing a future-oriented workplace culture. Particular attention is paid to values such as credible, fair leadership and active promotion of employees.

At BLUBERRIES it is natural that all employees regularly take part in trainings, for example on methods of agile project management or the development of soft skills. Of course, we will continue to work together to nurture and develop our culture of support and cohesion. Initial steps have already been taken. Following the survey, a development workshop was held. In doing so, we have derived ideas and measures based on the survey results. In an intensive discussion all employees were able to contribute their personal ideas and opinions. We consider a good working atmosphere as one that is characterised by mutual respect and trust. And this is one of the components to support our clients in a cooperative manner.

In the accompanying industry competition “Best Employer in Consulting”, consulting companies which are characterised by a particularly high quality of workplace culture were awarded. A similar competition was held among companies from Bavaria and we received an award for “Best Employer in Bavaria”. We at BLUBERRIES are very pleased to receive the “Best Employer in Consulting” and “Best Employer in Bavaria” awards as well as the “Great Place to Work” certification!

BLUBERRIES has highlighted the success factors of newly founded municipal utilities together with the Wuppertal Institute. Those who want to get an overview of the study impressions of the team around Dr. Christian Herr and Dr. Kurt Berlo can do this here:

EconStore | Energie und Management | Energate-Messenger | EUWID – neue Energie | ZFK – Zeitung für kommunale Wirtschaft | RathausConsult | Der neue Kämmerer | ASEW | Energiewirtschaftliche Tagesfragen

Those of you who are interested in the whole study can find it under following link (in German): Studie – Erfolgspotentiale bei neugegründeten Stadtwerken

Through the merger, the two companies will be in a position to provide consulting services that cover almost the entire value-chain of the energy industry. Through the merger plenum/BLUBERRIES are positioning themselves to be a reliable and highly qualified partner for our customers to overcome the future challenges that the energy industry faces.

About plenum AG:

plenum AG Management Consulting is an independent, medium-sized, partner-led management consultancy. The company was founded in 1986 in Frankfurt am Main. Today, it has around 70 specialized consultants with an average of more than 10 years of consulting and project experience. plenum focuses on five key competence areas: digitalization, regulation, IT management, operational excellence and change. plenum focuses on providing consultancy services in three economic sectors: the banking and insurance sector as well as to the energy sector.

The merger of these two companies, plenum and BLUBERRIES, offers the customers of both companies’ new opportunities to benefit from an even broader field of expertise from a single source:

• plenum/BLUBERRIES jointly cover all core processes, from the technical, asset-related processes of production, transport and distribution through to trade and sales of energy services
• Given the position of plenum/BLUBERRIES at the intersection of business and IT, plenum/BLUBERRIES are perfect fit to be consultants for the key challenges facing the energy industry
• The shared experience in optimizing corporate governance and administration enhances the staffing opportunities that plenum/BLUBERRIES can offer its customers in regard to projects with implementation and change-management focus in central business functions
• Through the merger, plenum/BLUBERRIES will be in a much better position to offer services for future challenges along the entire value chain
• Customers can continue to expect the usual high-quality work – enhanced with additional expertise and a wider knowledgebase

We look forward to our joint future as well as expanding our know-how with which we can now even better support our customers.

Municipal utilities (Stadtwerke) play a central role for the energy transition. On the one hand, they ensure well over half of the supply of electricity, gas and heat in Germany. On the other hand, municipal utilities have a special position in the area of tension between politics, business, and private households due to their municipal roots. Therefore, the question of the study was: How do newly founded municipal utilities achieve and ensure economic success? This question has been central to the study conducted by BLUBERRIES and Wuppertal Institute.

Based on an online survey, the most important results for the four fields of action (cooperation, digitisation, resilience and social responsibility) that have been taken into focus, can be summarised as follows:

1. Cooperation and various forms of collaboration in the start-up stage play a very important role regarding the success of newly established municipal utilities.
2. Focussing on resilience sustainability and climate protection as integral parts of the corporate idea makes a significant contribution to achieving the aims of newly founded municipal utilities.
3. Offering Smart Meters helps to increase customer insights, benefits of customers as well as improve distribution grid management. These do not only support the organisations in the start-up stage, but also in following stages.
4. The direct perception of social responsibility is linked positively to economic success.

You can read the full study here (Language: German)