- Policymakers, business leaders and EU representatives gathered in Brussels to discuss Europe’s future-readiness.
- The companies of Schwarz Group and their partners are keeping raw materials in the circular economy, driving the shift toward lower-emission logistics, strengthening digital sovereignty, promoting healthy lifestyles and the circular economy and helping to ensure a reliable food supply.
- Case studies with BMW, Milence, KPN, UEFA and the supplier network demonstrate the success of strategic collaboration.
The companies of Schwarz Group invited 250 guests, including policymakers, business leaders and EU representatives, to meet in Brussels. True to this year’s theme, “Stronger Together – Partnerships for Europe’s Success”, the attendees of the fifth “Schwarz Impulse” event discussed how strategic partnerships can strengthen Europe's competitiveness, sovereignty, quality of life and sustainable economy.
“We don’t wait for others to solve our challenges – we take action ourselves. The companies of Schwarz Group invest in infrastructure, protect data and resources and work with their partners to develop solutions for a competitive, sovereign and self-assured Europe,” said Gerd Chrzanowski, General Partner of Schwarz Group.
Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU Commissioner for Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification, spoke about Europe’s competitiveness: “Stronger partnerships can help build a more competitive European economy: working with businesses to identify the actions that will unlock investment, innovation and growth; working with our co-legislators to keep an ambitious legislative agenda; and working with Member States so that our drive for competitiveness at European level is matched by determined action at national level. Together, we can deliver the prosperity, resilience and growth that Europe urgently needs.”
The panel discussion “The Power of Strategic Partnerships” outlined how strategic partnerships work in practice. Anja van Niersen, CEO of Milence, Martin Kallen, CEO of UEFA Events SA, Jochen Goller, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Customers, Brands, and Sales; and Jurgen de Jong, Vice President Cloud and Productivity at KPN, discussed Europe’s role in matters relating to quality of life, digital sovereignty and sustainable business activity.
Günther H. Oettinger, former member and Vice President of the European Commission and former Minister-President of the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, concluded the formal portion of the evening with his closing remarks.
Overview of the Partnerships
- BMW and PreZero are keeping raw materials in the circular economy: The BMW Group and PreZero are developing a business model focused on the recovery of end-of-life vehicles. While the BMW Group leverages its expertise in design for recycling and manufacturing, PreZero brings to bear its experience in sorting technology and battery recycling. The objective is to keep secondary raw materials in the circular economy as a strategic resource for European industry.
- Kaufland and Milence are driving the shift toward lower-emission logistics: Kaufland and Milence are teaming up to electrify logistics. The new high-power charging hub in Barsinghausen, Germany, features 400 kilowatt charging stations for electric trucks. The charging hub is powered entirely by certified electricity from renewable energy sources, book-and-claim verified by Guarantees of Origin. The hub is reported to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 700 metric tons per year. This demonstrates how partnerships are driving the adoption of lower-emission logistics solutions.
- KPN and Schwarz Digits are strengthening digital sovereignty: Schwarz Digits and KPN are building a sovereign European cloud solution under European law for the Dutch market. In this setup, KPN operates the data centers and is responsible for connectivity and IT services while Schwarz Digits provides the cloud infrastructure with STACKIT.
- UEFA, Lidl and PreZero are combining healthy lifestyles with the circular economy: As an official UEFA Take Care Nutrition and UEFA Grassroots Partner, Lidl supports and further develops initiatives and educational programs by UEFA. This strategic partnership extends far beyond traditional sponsorship. Across 55 countries, it provides children and coaches with knowledge about balanced nutrition and promotes physical activity, team spirit, and social participation in grassroots sports. As an operational and strategic partner, PreZero will support UEFA moving forward with data-driven methods and targeted training programs. The goal is to make the circular economy measurable in stadiums, thereby establishing top-flight European football as a scalable blueprint for efficient materials and resource management.
- The supplier network ensures a reliable food supply: Schwarz Produktion, along with its group companies, is one of Europe’s key food manufacturers. Long-term partnerships and fair standards within the retail divisions’ and Schwarz Produktion’s supplier networks ensure that millions of people across Europe can count on a reliable supply of high-quality food every day.
