1/26 What is sustainability in 2026?
Hello! You are reading Das Neue Geben alongside currently 5,102 others. 📖 This issue from Tuesday, February 3, 2026 has approx. 2,400 words · reading time ~8 minutes
This newsletter comes in a new format and features the following content: My essay on sustainability, defense, and nuclear power comes from Beirut, I discuss with Dr. Andreas Rickert as the premiere guest on his new podcast, I celebrate a smart article by Hedda Pahlson-Moller and the new model of philanthropic equity with Till Wahnbaeck. Plus partner news, events, and updates from the FO Foundation and my Handelsblatt column, this time on the "foundation secret".
✍️ ESSAY: WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY EVEN IN 2026?
Even the first few weeks of 2026 show that we have to question even more than in 2025. This includes the assumptions behind our own work. How valuable a change of scenery can be for a new perspective is something I am experiencing while writing these lines - I am sitting in Beirut with a cup of Arabic coffee, listening to a friend who has lived here for many years:
„Lebanon is not going to become more like the rest of the world - the world is currently becoming more like Lebanon."
What a statement. But I understand what he means: A world in which key promises no longer hold. Here, the state power grid only provides electricity for a few hours a day in many places. Yet, precisely because of this, an almost fully renewable electricity supply from decentralized solar systems has emerged in recent years – out of collective, private self-help.
The fact that the world is currently becoming "more like Lebanon" is also evident in what is happening with ecological and social investments. For decades, the financial world moved towards sustainability. ESG funds put weapons and fossil fuels on their exclusion lists. The internet promised decarbonized growth for a world moving inexorably towards liberal societies.
Like many in my generation, I firmly believed in this. And I struggle to let go of it. But the trend has reversed. In 2025, billions flowed out of European ESG funds for the first time since 2018. Over 300 European funds have removed ESG terms from their names.
Instead: PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel is now investing his money in drone startups. Spotify founder Daniel Ek, as CEO of the defense company Helsing, is leading a 600 million euro financing round. In 2025, ten new defense unicorns were born.
At the same time, nuclear energy is experiencing a renaissance: Sam Altman is investing in new reactors at Oklo and Bill Gates is putting a billion dollars into TerraPower. Meta is closing multi-gigawatt nuclear deals. Whether AI data centers help democracy is questionable. In any case, they are not a greener industry.
Is the new green perhaps olive green? And nuclear yellow?
What connects Beirut's solar panels and our defense unicorns: Both are answers to the collapse of old certainties, a search for solutions in a world where the promise of liberal convergence no longer holds, and security must once again be defended with weapons.
For most people who – like me – grew up with the sustainability movement, this is difficult to accept. On our path to a better world, we might have had to deal with many shades of gray, but not with the multi-colored nature of completely different visions of which direction to take.
What this means for our money.
We can no longer rely on the financial world to somehow converge towards the idea of sustainability that seemed so unstoppable over the last twenty years. Anyone who wants to do good with their money, or at least avoid harm, needs their own definition of what that means. Some will invest in solar panels, others in defense, and still others in nuclear energy.
Does this mean a new world of arbitrariness, where "everything goes"? Not if we, first, learn to argue about the direction of sustainability again - and, second, make it simple to actually invest the money accordingly. Just as the citizens of Beirut were able to build their own green electricity supply, balcony by balcony and roof by roof, we can allocate our money differently and more consciously, euro by euro.
In the still-new year of 2026, I plan to show at least once a month in this newsletter how this is done: Not with wealth-building strategies, but with recommendations for donating, creating foundations, and impact investing, with lots of role models and food for thought - and also with the bcause platform, which makes the whole process as simple as online banking, even with small amounts. Let’s go!
Club Neues Geben
Effective giving is a complex and personal task. Club Neues Geben offers guidance and direction through networking, exchange, and shared learning. No expensive consulting. No fundraising. Just personal experiences and knowledge.
A number that sticks in your mind: $55 billion
Sustainable and ESG funds recorded unprecedented net outflows of $55 billion in the third quarter of 2025. In the US, it was the tenth consecutive quarter of outflows, and in Europe, the first since records began. This is a turning point – driven by performance issues, political shifts, and skepticism about greenwashing.
This is the background of my discussion with Dr. Andreas Rickert in the premiere of his new podcast "Neue Deutsche Nachhaltigkeit". In picturesque Alpbach, we talked about the mental barriers we face when mixing market and mission. Aha moments guaranteed.
“Today, retail investors are often only offered the non-sustainable leftover ramp of the capital market.”
“What is considered charity today is actually long-term market action in reality.”
🎧 Premiere episode here
A person who inspires me: Hedda Pahlson-Moller
My friend and impact investing pioneer from Luxembourg has written an incredibly smart article about how impact investing messed up. Her thesis: We are experiencing a painful but powerful transition phase. Old certainties are collapsing, illusions are being exposed – and therein lies the opportunity to radically rethink capital, impact, and responsibility. In my view, a must-read for anyone interested in impact investing!
“Impact investing is having a bit of an identity crisis… maybe even a full ‘walk of shame’ moment.”
An idea to ponder: Philanthropic equity
And in an article for the Tagesspiegel, Till Wahnbaeck (impacc) and I herald the era of philanthropic equity – money donated once, which is then invested economically and on an equal footing as equity to fund jobs and sustainable business models. It’s as easy as a bank transfer, comes with the tax benefit of a donation, and is the most effective way to fight poverty.
How does this work in practice? Via bcause you can now invest in impacc and Fair Equity – both pioneers in philanthropic equity. Or invest directly in fairafric with a donation - the world's fairest chocolate from Ghana. The returns then flow back into your bcause account and can be reinvested or donated again.
bcause on demand
Our offering for non-profit organizations
bcause on demand enables non-profit organizations to collect and earn interest on donations digitally, manage them centrally, and deploy them precisely when needed. Fundraising and fund use no longer work separately, but hand in hand.
🗓️ Partner News and Events
🎟️ Fundraising Symposium – February 27, Frankfurt
I have four €80 discount tickets to give away to subscribers of this newsletter. Here are the codes: CVBEZ5RIQY9O · CXME3H2975WI · DCTD91NY1CMI · DLQS2DKLHCLZ
🌍 The Capacity Biodiversity Summit – July 8-9, Switzerland
TIER founder Lawrence Leuschner is now building Capacity Moonshots for biodiversity. First up is project Shield, a satellite-based early warning system for rainforest deforestation. Find out more in Episode 52 of the podcast "Das Neue Geben". Capacity is hosting an invite-only meeting with 100 global leaders for Amazon protection & biodiversity. Featuring Chief Álvaro Tukano, Peter Hammarstedt (SeaShepherd), Anna Alex (Nala Earth). Interested in founding sponsorship or participating? → Email taylor@capacity.eco
📚 Multi-Capital Strategies for Wealth Holders
Club Neues Geben partner Dr. Falko Paetzold from CSP Global is offering international courses on philanthropic strategies, including "Introduction to Multicapital Strategies" on May 2 in St. Gallen and "Investing for Systems Change" on May 4-6 in Zurich.
🔗 CSP Trainings for Wealth Holders
⛏️ DUG UP
#13/25: More (than) Money (September 2025)
From the new bcause impact with a 4% target return to organizations like impacc and fairafric: How investment giving works and why money can achieve more than pure donations. Back then, the question was already: What actually is "impact"? 🔗 Read more
#3/24: The Reformed Klarna Founder (June 2024)
Niklas Adalberth with a €125 million foundation, Norrsken House, and the question of whether he was "net positive" for the world. Perfect for the impact debate. 🔗 Read more
💡 MORE FROM FELIX FO Foundation on bcause
My own small online foundation has received its largest donation to date. I look forward to distributing over €50,000 in the coming months.
Current focus area: Poverty → here are my recommendations
Previous focus areas with recommendations on gravity topics like Democracy / Journalism, Development Work, Nutrition, and Feminism can be found here.
Next, I am looking for outstanding organizations in the fields of climate action and education - and look forward to ideas sent to fo@bcause.com
📰 Handelsblatt Column “Das Neue Geben”
27.1. “How German wealth grows in secret”
📻 Podcasts
"Startup Insider” Felix talks to host Jan Thomas about motivation and mission 🎧 Listen now on Spotify
"Neue Deutsche Nachhaltigkeit” Felix guest stars in the premiere with host Dr. Andreas Rickert 🎧 Listen now on Spotify
📅 Upcoming Appearances:
27.2. Fundraising Symposium, Frankfurt
13.3. ThinkFWD Summit, Bankhaus Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe
1.-3.6. German Fundraising Congress, Berlin
21.5. German Foundation Day, Hamburg
17.7. United Philanthropy Forum, Washington DC
Newsletter
So much is written. About everything. Except about giving. Every day I meet people who want to and can give more. Ideas and organizations that make a difference.
In my newsletter, I talk about topics that otherwise remain unexplained: Why people give or don't, which paths and wrong turns they take, how the market of giving works - with surprising numbers, inspiring portraits, and provocative ideas.
