BE Group of Companies

Entrepreneurs use opportunities to satisfy needs. To do so, they need resources, raw materials from which products and services are created. The BE Group does both in a systemically sustainable way: it often uses supposed waste as a starting point for new business models; and it focuses on livelihoods. A major focus is on nutrition, as this is the source of 30-40% of our ecological footprint. Precious mushrooms, for example, are now grown on coffee grounds in a dozen European countries, after Chido’s mushrooms pioneered the model in Berlin in 2010.

StadtFarm produces fish, vegetables and tropical fruits in urban areas, i.e. close to the consumer, with less than a fifth of the conventional ecological footprint. Food has a complex value chain that is difficult for consumers to understand. From seeds to breeding under optimal conditions, then the cold chain via several trade and logistics partners. Today, all this requires sensor technology, data and machine learning.

BE Bots develop not only tailor-made automation for agriculture 4.0 and block-chain-based goods flows, but also robots that can take over 24/7, e.g. pest monitoring and control. But for food to flourish in the fields, our soils must become healthy and sustainable again. Soil recarbonisation is achieved by means of activated carbon – obtained from residual wood and green waste that has no place in composting plants.

That’s why the group has designed a solution for recarbonizing soils. It is done by means of activated carbon – obtained from residual wood and green waste that no longer finds a place in composting plants. To this end, Carbon Loop Technologies has developed an unbeatably efficient pyrolysis method that produces charcoal so cheaply that it can be used across the board. At the beginning of 2020, we sold the technology to an investor from the agricultural sector.

Recently, BE Solutions has again been strongly dedicated to the topic of solar in the energy sector. With AgroSolar Europe, it is developing cutting-edge technology in the field of combined agriculture and energy together with renowned partners.

In the BE Group we have conceived, tested and in part implemented dozens of such ideas and models in an entrepreneurial manner. But we cannot do everything ourselves – and we want others to benefit from our wealth of experience. That is why BE Solutions & Blue Systems Design GmbH is our management consultancy for sustainable, competitive innovations and value-added processes. In doing so, we focus on the basic principle of systemic sustainability: every waste is a source of new ideas. The business models developed with our analysis and design tools, similar to the BE Group’s partners’, make use of local resources, create jobs and provide both economic and social impulses by focusing on the participation of all stakeholders. This creates new future perspectives for companies, citizens and communities.

The main focus of BE Solutions’ work is:

  • Development of participative, sustainable business models
  • Conception of systemic, cascading value chains (input-output analyses of material flows & their translation into economic potential)
  • Innovation support for companies, especially SMEs
  • Strengthening the resilience of regions, especially in rural areas

History of BE Solutions Management Consulting

  • 2022

    In 2022, the focus will be on renewable energy. The goal of the new federal government for the expansion of photovoltaics (PV) is about 200 GW by 2030. “We will also strengthen innovative solar energy such as agri and floating PV and enable co-use,” according to the coalition agreement. With the establishment of the StartUp AgroSolar Europe, and the various new types of Agri-PV systems, the foundation has been laid to systematically scale this Agri-PV technology now in order to also meet the political goals. As BE Solutions we will accompany this development intensively and provide the experience in consulting.

  • 2021

    In 2021, we will focus strongly on innovations in industry. With the first companies, we have demonstrated in 2020 that it is economically possible to operate in the sense of complete carbon neutral production.

  • 2020

    2020 was dominated by Corona. Many great regional development projects had to be postponed due to the pandemic. We were all the more pleased that we were able to show our strengths in the areas of innovation in companies and neighborhood development in urban settings.

  • 2019

    Beyond Blue – Cascading Economy. With the introduction of Cascading Economy we want to describe and explore a new form of meta-business model. Because in the Cascading Economy, the value chains do not stand side by side, but interlock cascadingly. After 8 years of working with the Blue Economy, we now see the chance to develop holistic, integrating business models.

  • 2018

    In 2018, we will be dealing with the cascading, material and thermal use of biomass – in line with the vision of a future-oriented bio-economy. We are also investigating the opportunities offered by digitalisation for all possible areas of sustainability. This led to two new spin-offs, CLT and BE Bots, leaving our company this year to become independent.

  • 2017

    In 2017 there were two major themes in our work: New Work and the question of modern management approaches, which we tested and implemented both internally and for our customers. At the same time, we presented our regional development in numerous towns and federal states, together with the film “Von Bananenbäumen träumen”, which accompanied one of our projects over 3 years. In this way, we were able to help numerous villages to set off into a sustainable future.

  • 2016

    In 2016, we focused on two key issues: the appreciation of “human resources” through inclusion and integration in jobs and society – both for refugees and the long-term unemployed; and health in the context of sustainability.

  • 2015

    TopFarmers was spun off as an independent company. Topics such as automation (Industry 4.0) also played a role in regional development, for example in tourism. With our “UPRISE Process” we enable the systemic consideration of hidden potentials by simulation models for cities and communities.

  • 2014

    This year, the focus was on the topic of “Energy in abundance” as a motor for innovative impulses. Fashion and 3D printing also kept us busy, also in the form of practical experiments and workshops.

  • 2013

    In addition to our first project in Brandenburg, we developed several concepts for “Business in a Box”. Soap (alternatives to palm oil) was also a topic of great interest, especially to the delegation from Indonesia.

  • 2012

    More and more regional development projects and support for several financing rounds for European start-ups. In addition, political work with various federal parties and the UN.

  • 2011

    Foundation, first projects with SMEs in the food (Germany and Bhutan), energy (Sweden) and water (Germany, Sweden).