About the Project
„Economics of Sufficiency“ is a research project conducted by TU Berlin and BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) . Together with a scientific advisory board and practice partners, we investigate how to shape an economy that uses fewer resources while placing social and ecological goals at the center. Between May 2024 and October 2025, we examined how such approaches work in practice.
Qualitatively, interviews were conducted with 13 sufficiency pioneers from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to capture their experiences in dealing with sufficiency practices. Quantitatively, a survey was completed by 304 sustainability-oriented companies from the same countries to understand the dissemination and scalability of sufficiency-oriented business.
What Did We Aim to Find Out?
- Which sufficiency strategies companies are already using today
- What prevents companies from adopting sufficiency strategies
- How companies can overcome these barriers
- What other companies can learn from them
What Did We Do?
The project consisted of four stages:
1. Research: We collected and reviewed current studies and publications on the topic of “sufficiency in companies.”
2. Interviews: We spoke with a wide range of companies and wanted to know: Why do they adopt sufficiency? What works well—and where are the difficulties?
3. Online survey: Through a larger survey, we aimed to find out how widespread such strategies are among sustainability-oriented companies.
4. Workshop series: We exchanged experiences with entrepreneurs and other practitioners—for example, in a three-part workshop series. This website with the most important findings and recommendations also emerged from this process.
