© Candy1812Perpetual change: Transformation as the new normal, not a one-off project
Transformation has become an all-of-society effort that can secure and grow our prosperity. Industry has a duty to tackle this task and drive it forward.
Change is no longer a one-off project; it is the new normal. Climate change, demographic trends, digitalization, and national-security requirements are fundamentally changing our markets and the means of production. This makes innovation a central source of future economic vitality.
Industry is predestined to carry this renewal across the finish line. Industrial production unites science, scaling, and market maturity. Many of the world’s growth markets — from climate and efficiency tech or automation all the way to health sciences — are industrial in nature and find their origins at the intersection of different sectors.
One thing has become clear: Innovation is rarely a linear process. It develops within value-creation networks involving a mix of technology, services, and industrial applications. Industry’s responsibility is therefore not simply to develop individual products, but to design entire innovation ecosystems hand in hand with science, politics, and society at large.
The BDI advocates for implementing these goals together:
- We, the BDI, are clear: Transformation is an ongoing task for us all as a business location, and that is why we deliver concrete recommendations for action along these transformation pathways.
- We, the BDI, take a long view of transformation pathways to illustrate how Germany can secure its industrial competitiveness now and in the future.
- We, the BDI, are unafraid to call out stagnating innovation and to demand a change of course — because innovational capacity is a perpetual task.
- We, the BDI, support Deep Tech and its integration into markets — because in a state of ongoing transformation, prosperity comes from innovation.
- We, the BDI, connect innovative players across all sectors, from the largest corporations down to startups and Germany’s Mittelstand sector of small and medium-sized businesses, by highlighting industrial Innovation Spotlights.
- We, the BDI, advocate for a strategic approach to innovation policy in our BDI focus on innovation.
Gestaltungskraft
Germany finds itself in the midst of deep technological, economic, and geopolitical changes. Old rules are giving way to a new geo-economic order.
Far from being some abstract future scenario, this realignment is already impacting industrial decision-making today. We are reevaluating global supply chains, exposing technological dependencies, and factoring geopolitical risk into our economic calculations.
Verbinden
Industrial strength does not come from the excellence of individual firms alone; it arises from an ability to bring together technological, economic, and scientific actors through intelligent networks. Studies show that industrial value creation reaches its peak impact in a cluster.
Handlungsfähigkeit
The future of Europe depends on our ability to advance the causes of innovation, defense, and democracy — together and resolutely through close industrial cooperation — by furthering integration in Europe and strengthening the European Single Market.
Leadership
The question is not whether German industry is in the lead, but how it leads the way in this new order — for Germany and Europe.
Responsible leadership is a function of skill and impact. German industry demonstrates both in its technological excellence, deep industrial value chains, and international connections.
Fundament
Credible claims to leadership rest on economic strength. It preserves our capacity to act by securing sovereignty and resilience in a changed world.
A strong economy is a requirement for political freedom of action. It unlocks investment opportunities, enables technological development, and improves our ability to respond to crises. Without industrial substance, strategic autonomy remains an illusion
Systemkompetenz
Value creation today is a dynamic, interconnected fabric of closely integrated businesses, technologies, markets, and societal expectations. The reality of industrial production has fundamentally shifted. Products no longer emerge in isolated value chains but in complex networks of suppliers, platforms, services, and digital infrastructures.
Verbundkraft
Innovation and transformation emerge at the intersection of industry, commerce, and technology.
Many of the most impactful innovations of our time occurred at such intersections: of energy and industry, of digitalization and health, of mobility and infrastructure.
Verlässlichkeit
Germany and Europe boast a stable legal environment that enables reliable collaboration, a decisive locational advantage in the context of global competition. Legal certainty, dependability, and institutional stability are central prerequisites for long-term industrial collaboration. Germany and Europe provide an environment that builds trust between companies, investors, and governments.
Zusammenhalt
The international environment is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. A shifting balance of global power, hybrid threats, and the deliberate creation of economic dependencies are fundamentally altering the contours of what it means to be a global economic destination.
