© elobau
The Franco-German cultural channel arte is known for its high-quality reporting on interesting topics from all over the world. At the end of July and in early August, a TV crew of three filmed for three days at elobau’s Leutkirch location, where they not only filmed the facilities, but also interviewed people. They talked to Executive Director Michael Hetzer and other employees, such as our workforce advisor Thomas Garmel, on the topic of purpose ownership and how this form of ownership impacts everyday working life. On November 5 at 7:40 pm, the 30-minute report will be shown on TV under the title “Re: Mehr Sinn statt Gier – Kapitalismus neu gedacht” (Re: Purpose over Greed – Capitalism Reinvented).
Purpose ownership – a concept for the environment, companies, and society
Purpose ownership is a unique form of ownership of a company. Unlike asset ownership, the company is not owned by an individual person or a group of persons, such as a family or shareholders, but rather managed in a trust, such as the elobau foundation. The foundation ensures that the income generated by the company is only used for the maintenance and further development of the company, the purpose of the foundation, and for charitable and non-profit projects. This means that profit is no longer a means in and of itself, but rather a means to an end. And regardless of its legal form, the company can also no longer be sold and is thus protected against takeovers. Moreover, it means that the assets can not be pulled out of the company by the owners.
elobau – a medium-sized success story
The purpose movement, i.e. people for whom the purpose of doing something is more important than profit, is finding more and more followers among company bosses. They basically relinquish their stake in favour of a foundation and the associated purpose. The concept is not limited to any company size and can be realized by small start-ups, medium-sized companies such as elobau or Alnatura as well as corporations like Bosch or Zeiss. elobau Executive Director Michael Hetzer has signed over the previously family-run company to the foundation he established in 2016 with the aim of securing the future through sustainability and economy for the common good. The fact that arte has now selected elobau as a prime example of medium-sized companies, further emphasizes the success story of the elobau foundation company.
The report was available online from November 5, 2020 to February 2, 2021.