Regional and local energy and food value chains can contribute to increasing environmental and social sustainability of production and consumption. Consumers typically have preferences for products from regional and local value chains and exhibit a higher willingness-to-pay for them. The presentation will introduce different types of regional and local energy providers such as municipal utilities, citizen energy cooperatives, farmers, building owners and tenants. We will look at their business models, distribution channels, success factors and stakeholders as well as relevant regulatory aspects using selected examples from Germany. We will then look at three initiatives for regional/local food.

Professor Dr. Carsten Herbes（Nuertingen Geislingen University, Germany）.Carsten Herbes is a full professor of business administration at Nuertingen-Geislingen University (NGU), Germany and Director of the ‚Institute for International Research on Sustainable Management and Renewable Energy‘. He obtained a diploma (M.Sc. equivalent) in business administration and Japanese studies from Mannheim University and a doctoral degree in business administration from Viadrina University in Frankfurt (Oder). During his diploma studies, he spent one year at Hitotsubashi University as a research student. Before joining NGU, he worked for a large management consultancy and later was Head of R&D and CFO of a leading biomethane producer. His research topics include marketing, acceptance, business models and cost of renewable energy as well as bioeconomy and circular economy products. He is a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Consumer Behaviour and frequently reviews for leading journals like Journal of Cleaner Production, Sustainable Production and Consumption, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Energy Policy and Energy Research and Social Science. He acts as an advisor on sustainability issues to various companies and associations.

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