Der Bundesdeutsche Arbeitskreis fur umweltbewusstestes Management

What Der Bundesdeutsche Arbeitskreis fur umweltbewusstestes Management does

BAUM e.V. (Bundesdeutscher Arbeitskreis für umweltbewusstes Management), founded in 1984 and headquartered in Hamburg, is a non-profit registered association (eingetragener Verein) operating as Europe's largest sustainable business association with approximately 750 member companies spanning retail, telecommunications, manufacturing, energy, finance, and services. Its functional purpose is to convene companies committed to sustainable transformation, provide them peer-exchange and political-access channels, and qualify members through the BAUM-Kodex (Code of Conduct for Sustainable Business), whose signatories earn the right to display the BAUM logo in their own communications. The association runs an annual BAUM-Tagung conference at Europa-Park, has issued the BAUM Environment and Sustainability Award (co-signed by the Federal Minister for the Environment) since 1993, and operates the SDG-Scouts training programme for apprentices and junior staff.

The operating backbone is the Digital BAUM platform (app.baumev.de), an AI-based networking and community product offering a news feed, direct messaging, event calendar, project marketplace, and the Digitale Akademie (Digital Academy) for e-learning with certificate-bearing courses. The platform is open to non-members under a freemium model with member-only privileges (organisation-level posting, event creation), and integrates Xing-Events for event registration, Stripe for payments, SAP Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud for member and marketing data, and Brevo for newsletter distribution; analytics are handled via privacy-friendly Matomo and Koko Analytics rather than mainstream third-party trackers.

Revenue mechanics are characteristic of a German industry association: recurring annual membership dues from ordinary (voting) and supporting members form the primary stream, supplemented by event participation fees (BAUM-Tagung and expert events) and transaction-based Digital Academy course fees; donations are accepted via a Twingle-powered portal. Member acquisition is community-led and event-driven, anchored by the Code of Conduct qualification, the flagship conference, and the BAUM Award as a credentialing and earned-media lever.

Name

Der Bundesdeutsche Arbeitskreis fur umweltbewusstestes Management

Legal name

Bundesdeutscher Arbeitskreis für Umweltbewusstes Management (BAUM) e.V.

Website

https://baumev.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BAUM e.V. is Europe's largest non-profit sustainable business association, founded in 1984 and headquartered in Hamburg, serving approximately 750 member companies with peer networking, political access, sustainability credentials, and the AI-based Digital BAUM platform, Digital Academy, annual BAUM-Tagung, and the BAUM Award.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: BAUM operates as a membership association. Ordinary (voting) and supporting memberships are available to companies, institutions, and individuals committed to sustainable business. Specific membership fees are not publicly disclosed on the website.
2. Event participation fees: Revenue generated from BAUM-Tagung attendance and other events including symposia, workshops, and expert dialogues. Cancellation terms indicate cancellation fees apply (50% for late cancellations).
3. Digital Academy course fees: E-learning courses are offered through the Digital Academy, with fees charged per course. Some courses issue certificates upon completion. Third-party content is linked via API to the provider's platform.
4. Donations: BAUM accepts donations via a Twingle donation portal (spenden.twingle.de/b-a-u-m-e-v/spendenbutton/tw6387636309923/page).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

BAUM e.V. is a non-profit membership association operating Europe's largest sustainable business network. It provides member companies with an AI-based digital networking platform (Digital BAUM), a curated e-learning offering (Digital Academy), annual conferences (BAUM-Tagung), the BAUM Award for sustainability leadership, and a voluntary Code of Conduct (BAUM-Kodex) that signatories may use in corporate communications.

Product overview

BAUM e.V. operates as a non-profit business network offering a unified platform ecosystem for sustainable business transformation. The core offering is the Digital BAUM, an AI-based digital networking platform that serves as a digital twin for the association's work, complemented by the Digitale Akademie for e-learning, an Events platform for conferences and webinars, and various programs including the BAUM Award, BAUM-Kodex, SDG-Scouts®, and Business for Climate initiative. The platform connects approximately 750 members and provides networking, knowledge exchange, project collaboration, and certification services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Digitaler BAUM: Digital platform for networking, events, and e-learning related to sustainability
• Digitale Akademie
• BAUM-Preis / BAUM Award
• SDG-SCOUTS
• Business for Climate

Products and services

• Digital BAUM Platform AI-based digital networking platform for sustainability professionals and member companies. Provides news feed, direct messaging, event calendar, project marketplace, and access to the Digital Academy. Free registration for individuals; enhanced posting and event creation features for member company admins.
• Digitale Akademie (Digital Academy) E-learning platform offering curated courses on sustainability topics from BAUM and third-party providers. Certificates issued upon completion for some courses. Stripe-based per-course fee model with API-linked third-party content.
• BAUM-Tagung (Annual Conference) BAUM's flagship annual conference held at Europa-Park, Rust. Provides networking, expert keynotes, workshops, and policy dialogue on sustainable business. Registration via XING-Events.
• BAUM Environment and Sustainability Award (BAUM | Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitspreis) Annual award honouring individuals for sustainability leadership, established in 1993. Categories include Transformation Catalyst (large enterprise), Transformation Catalyst (SME), Academic, International, Media, Sport, and Lifetime Achievement. Certificate co-signed by the Federal Minister for the Environment. Application is free of charge and refinanced through fundraising.
• BAUM Code of Conduct (BAUM-Kodex für nachhaltiges Wirtschaften) Voluntary commitment framework for sustainable business practices. Signing the Code qualifies full members to use the BAUM logo and reference their membership in corporate communications. Available to ordinary (voting) members.
• SDG-Scouts® Training Programme Training programme for apprentices and junior staff under BAUM's Education for Sustainable Development (BNE) initiative. SDG-Scouts® is a registered brand name.
• Ordinary (Voting) Membership Annual membership tier for companies and institutions committed to sustainable business. Requires signing the BAUM Code of Conduct and grants full voting rights, the right to use the BAUM logo, and member-only platform features (posting on behalf of the organisation, event creation).
• Supporting Membership Annual membership tier for individuals and organisations that support BAUM's mission but do not exercise voting rights. Provides community engagement access.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 individuals have received the BAUM Award since 1993, providing recognition that strengthens awardees' positions within their own companies
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers30 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SAP (Sales Cloud & Marketing Cloud)coreTechnology or IntegrationBAUM uses SAP Sales Cloud for managing customer and member data and SAP Marketing Cloud for marketing automation. BAUM has signed Data Processing Agreements (Auftragsverarbeitung) with SAP in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR.
• SAPcoreTechnology or IntegrationBAUM uses SAP Sales Cloud for customer/member data management and SAP Marketing Cloud for marketing purposes, with data processed under GDPR Art. 6(1)(b) and (f) DSGVO.
• Content Partners (for Digital Academy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird-party providers from BAUM membership and external organisations that contribute e-learning content to the Digital Academy. Content partners publish courses on the platform, with individual Kooperationsvereinbarungen (cooperation agreements). Contact for content partnerships: Jan Koch ([email protected]). Course content is labelled as BAUM-produced or third-party.
• Health365 AC GmbH (Data Protection Officer)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHealth365 AC GmbH serves as BAUM's appointed Data Protection Officer (Datenschutzbeauftragter). Contact: Herr Frank Nelles, c/o Mindspace, Krausenstr. 9-10, 10117 Berlin. Serves as external DPO provider.
• Transparent Civil Society Initiative (Initiative Transparente Zivilgesellschaft – ITZ)minorOthersBAUM is a member of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative (ITZ) since 2018. This is a transparency initiative for civil society organisations in Germany.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bundesverband Nachhaltige Wirtschaft (BNW): Direct German competitor: a national business association advocating for sustainable economic policy. Overlaps closely with BAUM's enterprise-member model and sustainability advocacy positioning, competing for the same pool of German sustainability-committed companies.
• econsense – Forum for Sustainable Development of German Business: German sustainability network of leading companies founded in 2000 by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Directly comparable as a corporate membership platform advancing sustainable business practice, though with a larger-enterprise skew than BAUM.
• CSR Europe: European business network for corporate sustainability and CSR. Closely comparable to BAUM in mission and membership-based business model, but with broader pan-European reach and Brussels policy orientation versus BAUM's Germany-centric footprint.

Broad incumbents

• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD): Global, CEO-led business association for sustainable development with 200+ member companies. Operates in the same membership-driven sustainability space as BAUM but at much larger scale and with international footprint, representing the broader-incumbent peer.
• UN Global Compact: The world's largest corporate sustainability initiative with tens of thousands of participating companies. Comparable as a global sustainability membership framework and Code-of-Conduct-style commitment mechanism, though non-binding and at vastly larger scale than BAUM.

Others

• B.A.U.M. Consult GmbH: Named member of BAUM and a sustainability consulting arm within the BAUM network ecosystem. Comparable as an adjacent service provider extending the network's offerings into consulting, though not a competing association itself.

Emerging players

• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): Independent international standards organisation for sustainability reporting, headquartered in Amsterdam. Comparable as a sustainability standards and reporting framework provider, intersecting with BAUM's Sustainable Finance & Reporting topic and Code of Conduct, though focused on global reporting standards rather than a member network.
• BUND (Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland): One of Germany's largest environmental and nature conservation associations. Comparable as a major German non-profit operating in the broader sustainability domain, though focused on civic/environmental advocacy rather than the business-network model that distinguishes BAUM.
• NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland): One of Germany's oldest and largest environmental associations with hundreds of thousands of members. Comparable as a major German non-profit in the environmental and sustainability space, though oriented toward consumer/civic membership rather than enterprise networks.

Regional players

• Wirtschaftsinitiative Nachhaltigkeit (WIN): A regional German business initiative for sustainability, listed in some German sustainability directories as an enterprise-level network. Comparable as a member-based sustainability business initiative, though smaller and more regionally focused than BAUM.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/baum-ev

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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