"The energy transition needs public affairs"

Frankfurt (energate) - The classic "address book lobbying" is a thing of the past. The signs under which politics and business now meet have changed massively. The energy transition also needs a new culture of dialogue between political decision-makers and companies.

A guest article by Hanno Benz, Head of Public Affairs, Mainova AG

As an intermediary between ambitious energy and climate policy and corporate reality, public affairs has a creative mandate. On the one hand, it transports political expectations into the company. At the same time, it conveys impulses and solutions from within the company into the political arena. The public affairs of municipal companies have to master three registers: they have to interact with the business community and full-time politicians, and they have to be able to put themselves in the mindset of voluntary elected officials.

Municipal energy suppliers ensure the elementary supply of energy and water. In addition, they contribute with their results to the financing of municipal facilities such as swimming pools or public transport and thus relieve the core budgets of the municipalities. They are also the link to local citizens. This is where the future energy system will ultimately take shape and needs acceptance.
 

"Lobbying" as joint advocacy

Public affairs thus has a task that is once again of great importance for society as a whole. The energy transition demands a new self-image from it: "lobbying" as joint advocacy for a goal that overrides all individual interests - the major transformation of Germany into a climate-neutral industrial nation.