The Energy Academy:
On the sector & its societal acceptance

As work on the reformation of the Energy sector in Germany progresses, it has become all the more clear that citizen’s faith in the necessity, achievability and fairness of the changes being made will determine the success of the movement.

Realistically, it is unlikely that urgent decisions with far-reaching consequences can be implemented against the will of society. However, it is also unrealistic to expect a perfect consensus regarding all the technical and economic details as there will always be limits as to what is achievable. For many conflicts which are emerging in this discussion, there is a lack of applicable rules. How can a dialogue, leading to a reliable compromise, be conducted under these conditions so that the reformation of the energy sector can progress? This is the question which has been the focus of the Academy for the Energy Sector and its acceptance, which has been conducted by the WCGE since 2012, with the support of the innogy Foundation for Energy and Society and in cooperation with the Department of Energy Management and Sustainability at the University of Leipzig. Doctoral and Master students develop their understanding of business ethics principles, enter into exchange with experts from politics, business, academia and civil society and finally, put their learnings to the test in a simulated stakeholder dialogue, where they experience the opportunities and limits of trust-building dialogue processes.