What happened at the II ECG International Conference?

The ECG Chair at the University of Valencia hosted our II ECG International Conference – ECG IC 2022. Approximately 70 participants, primarily from Europe, Latin America, and North America, gathered—for many, it was their first in-person post-pandemic meeting. We were delighted to welcome back several participants from the inaugural conference in Bremen, demonstrating continuity in both attendees and programme.

The splendid Paraninf Centre Cultural La Nau hosted the opening panel. Participants included María Vicenta Mestre Eserivà, president of the university; Francese Alós Muñoz Murgui, Dean of the Faculty of Economics; Rafael Climent González, Minister for Sustainable Economy of the Region of Valencia—who formalised the first decree to promote the ECG model in the real world; and Vanessa Campos from the ECG Chair at the University, who was the principal organiser. Christian Felber delivered the opening keynote, “From GDP to the Common Good Product: Measuring Economic Success According to the Goal”, aiming to elevate the main focus of the ECG model from the micro to the macro level.

Subsequent sessions explored a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from classical ECG contents such as sustainability reporting and its political implications, through tax justice, to public procurement. From a legal perspective, Lydia Scholz and Stefanie Deinert proposed that the quantified and comparable result of the Common Good Balance Sheet (“sustainability performance”) appearing on a label could be linked to differentiated VAT rates in the EU.

More specialised topics, including gender diversity management, sustainable olive cultivation, Dona empren, and Tractatus ethicus cyberneticus, further enriched the programme. ECG spokesperson Katrin Muff from the Rome Business School delivered the closing keynote, “How to Shift Towards Creating a Positive Impact”. Among the numerous novel ideas that emerged during break discussions and the gathering dinner was a prototype ECG curriculum for bachelor’s and master’s studies worldwide.

Visit the conference website here.