Convincingly Sustainable – Making the World a Little Bit Better

Biodiversity is his hobbyhorse. In his spare time, he enjoys nature. And professionally, he is making the business world more aware of environmental issues and, at the same time, more profitable: Jürgen Wahl, entrepreneur from Upper Austria, advocates for the UN sustainability goals in many different ways. Back in high school, the passion of his biology teacher (who was among the first to establish a wood chip biomass boiler system in his town and whetted his students’ interest in biodiversity and ecological awareness) left a huge mark on him. “Back then, I realized that ecology and economy shouldn’t be in competition with each other,” the former start-up manager as well as top manager and consultant of many years professes.

Around the World with an MBA in His Bag

His passion led him to study at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, and after that at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, where he completed an export management program in 2003 and the Global Executive MBA program at the WU Executive Academy in 2004. Around the same time, he volunteered to complete his civilian service in Bhutan, where he planted trees as part of a reforestation program. Back in Austria, he decided to join the corporate sector: “I wanted to change the business world to make it greener,” he recounts. He landed his first job in the system catering industry, at McDonald’s, where he established a system for collecting packaging materials and kitchen refuse (organic waste, used oil, etc.) to be recycled. This position as an environmental manager set him on a course of promoting sustainability that he would keep pursuing for a long time to come. In 2006, he became a freelance company consultant and started building up start-ups in the energy sector as an interim manager and CEO. He, for example, managed to stabilize the gas trading company Centrex and the Exxa energy exchange via turnaround.

Back to His First Job – as a CEO

In 2011, he returned to his first place of work as CEO. Just a year later, he bought the company (by then called GUT GmbH) from his former boss at McDonald’s. It took him just five years to pay out the banks and investors and fully acquire the company. To this day, he holds all CEO and management board positions. He also heads Wahl und Partner, an internal consulting firm with four employees, which is closely linked to the consulting segment of GUT GmbH. This way, Jürgen Wahl leads his customers – companies that either commit to greener policies of their own accord or are forced to do so by legal stipulations – to sustainability in a very practical way. Sometimes, it takes a turnaround to eliminate deficiencies.

Persuasion as a Leadership Skill

Jürgen Wahl considers his persuasiveness and a fair amount of tenacity his superpowers: “I am not an idealistic do-gooder who glues himself to the crosswalk – although I do understand the desperation especially young people are feeling,” he admits. “Leadership is based on the ability to convince people. I always try to convince them to engage in sustainability measures in their companies by offering them clear paths and showing them the ensuing process-related and economic benefits,” he says. The issue of sustainability is the driving force behind an all-encompassing transformation process, which will eventually leave a company in a much better place, he states.

The Principle of Small Steps

In this process, it is important for consultants or managers not to expect a company to achieve too much of a transformation at once: “Transformation is best served in small doses. Especially for companies that voluntarily commit to more sustainability, this can greatly help along the transformation process. We always make sure to present our customers with best practice examples from the Nordic countries and Germany and help them to identify lessons for their own transformation process.”

Be it in his personal or his professional life: Jürgen Wahl strives to “make the world a little bit better,” as he says. He spends most of his free time in the mountains, where he hopes to continue to enjoy the intact nature. In his home region surrounding Lake Lunzer See, he also volunteers to promote biodiversity. “All of this motivates me to do a good job,” he asserts. As a leader, Jürgen Wahl aims to encourage his employees to get involved: “I involve my team in everything and do my best to create an atmosphere of mutual understanding. One thing is true for both employees and customers: if they understand why they are supposed to do something, they will be more motivated, and change will become much easier.”

Click to learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals.

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