Sustainability Reporting

Current political developments such as the European Green Deal, Sustainable Finance, the Amendment to Sustainability Reporting and the German Supply Chain Act are increasingly demanding that

companies take responsibility for the impact of their business activities. In addition, changing demands from customers, banks, investors and other stakeholders are having a significant impact on economic activity.

The benefits of sustainability management for your company are many and varied. Sustainability management:

• offers starting points for cost savings, product and process optimization and quality assurance,
• supports legitimacy and establishes trust with your business partners, customers and employees,
• meets the requirements formulated by business partners and legislators at home and abroad,
• provides support in the competition for skilled workers,
• recognizes and reduces risks and
• can generate innovations.

The implementation of sustainability management is particularly obvious for SMEs, as they already anticipate many aspects of CSR with their commitment to corporate responsibility in the sense of honorable merchants. 

If the intuitive gut feeling of responsible entrepreneurs is combined with systematic CSR management, you can make the most of your potential, improve your company's performance, stand out from the competition and make your contribution to solving current challenges.

10 steps to sustainability reporting

1. Check affectedness
2. Determine responsibility
3. Provide an overview of requirements
4. Carry out an inventory
5. Involve stakeholders
6. Carry out a materiality analysis
7. Integrate sustainability into the corporate strategy
8. Collect data
9. Reporting
10. Further development

The action guide from the IHK Munich and IZU as well as our summary offer you clear and practical instructions on how to successfully establish the CSRD reporting process in your company. You will also receive information on the background and implications of CSRD.

Summary of the action guide Guidance from the IHK Munich on CSRD Webinar - Sustainability reporting Basics No. 2 - What does the CSRD require?

In addition to the ESRS - which are mandatory for some companies - there are also voluntary standards. Companies that are not yet required to report or that also wish to adhere to these standards set themselves apart from the competition and strengthen the trust of stakeholders.

• German Sustainability Code (DNK): The Code comprises 20 criteria in four dimensions: Ecological (four criteria), economic (six criteria), social (five criteria) and governance, control and management (five criteria). The Code is particularly suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It takes into account the diversity, size and sector of the company and is tailored to Germany. The DNK database contains all declarations and reports from companies that already use the standard.
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): The GRI is an organization that publishes international guidelines for sustainability reports. The guidelines are suitable for companies of all sectors and sizes, but especially for those with complex value chains and multinational operations.

• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB): The SASB offers industry-specific standards for a total of 70 industries. These standards relate to topics and key figures that are particularly important for sustainable financial reporting. They are based on the topics of environment, social capital, human capital, business model and innovation as well as management and governance. The SASB is particularly suitable for listed companies with US operations.

In our interview and blog series, we present small and medium-sized companies from NRW that have already successfully integrated sustainability into their business model. At the same time, the founders report on the challenges posed by bureaucracy and financing conditions - and highlight the opportunities offered by an early switch to climate-friendly processes.

1. “We've turned the store inside out” - Interview with Bochum-based print service provider Niggemeyer Pro Imaging
2. Building climate-friendly data centers: Prior1 GmbH is working on it
3. “When it comes to sustainability, bureaucracy sometimes puts the brakes on” - Interview with the founder of the European Anatomy Campus in Mülheim
4. “We look at every investment: Could it also be sustainable?” Danny Meurs on the transformation of the hotel Der Brabander

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) describes a company's responsibility for the impact of its business activities on society. The focus is not only on the social component, but also on the ecological and economic dimension. The decisive factor here is not just what happens to the profit generated, but rather how it is generated - i.e. with as little negative impact on the environment and society as possible. CSR is also not a one-off project, but a strategic approach: Responsibility is firmly anchored in the core business along the three pillars of sustainability - economic, environmental and social.

CSRD - The legal framework: The European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is the legal framework for the reporting obligation. It obliges companies above a certain size to report on how sustainable their business models and business practices are. In concrete terms, this means that companies must disclose information on various aspects of their business activities with regard to the environment, social issues and good corporate governance (environmental, social, governance = ESG). The aim of the CSRD is to create greater transparency and comparability. 

ESRS - The details: The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) specify what should ultimately be included in a CSRD-compliant sustainability report. These standards cover ESG topics and specify what information companies must disclose. As everyone has to adhere to these standards, this leads to uniform and comparable reports - and therefore to greater transparency.