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The Sustainability Code

More than just a reporting standard.

We support companies to get started with sustainability reporting simple, helping them meet all the relevant legal requirements. But companies come away with more than just a completed sustainability report: more important still are the internal transition processes that are inevitably triggered by analysing the company’s own value chain and activities. After all, it is these processes that provide much-needed momentum in creating more sustainable and competitive business models.

We are in the process of updating the Code to ensure that, from 2025, both those companies legally obligated to report directly or indirectly in keeping with the new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and those choosing voluntarily to report will be able to use our services to report in compliance with the CSRD.

Coming in 2025: Free support services for CSRD-compliant sustainability reporting

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) is investing some 20 million euros in funding the Sustainability Code’s expansion to make it easier for companies to implement the new European reporting requirements set out in the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The goal is to provide holistic support to minimise the time and effort involved in sustainability reporting, not least for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

What we offer:

1.   The reporting requirements structured in modules for the different groups of companies, namely those subject to mandatory reporting (ESRS Set 1 & ESRS LSME) and those choosing voluntarily to report (ESRS VSME).

2.   Translation of the ESRS reporting requirements into plain language.

3.   Further development of the free information and training services available for companies in the context of CSRD reporting.

4.   A new, interactive online platform coming at the beginning of 2025 that will guide companies through the process of digital CSRD-compliant reporting and offer additional supporting services.

Learn more

View reports

All companies that use the standards set out in the Code to report on their sustainability performance must publish their Sustainability Code declaration on our database. Discover who uses the Code to bring transparency to their sustainability performance.

To the database

Create a report

Do you want to make your sustainability performance transparent and submit a Sustainability Code declaration for your company? Find out how to create your Code declaration in just 5 steps.

Getting Started

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All Code declarations are created in our database.

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How the DNK adds value to CSRD reporting

The BMWK is investing some 20 million euros in funding the Sustainability Code’s expansion to make it easier for companies to implement the new sustainability standards and cut red tape. The goal is to minimise the time and effort involved in sustainability reporting, particularly for SMEs.

  • Free to use: Sustainability reporting at no extra cost, subsidised by the German government.
  • Everything in one place: All the key legal requirements for sustainability reporting pooled in one tool.
  • Easier than ever: Plain language and clearly presented information lower the hurdles companies face in sustainability reporting.
  • Interactive platform for digital reporting: Info boxes, real-world examples, interfaces and links all offer support.
  • Technical interfaces: Links to additional software solutions, e.g. for data management and auditing.
  • Public reporting: The Sustainability Code database means all company sustainability reports are open access.
  • Initial consultation and support: The DNK offers holistic support for CSRD-compliant reporting, including webinars and guidelines.
  • Completeness check: We will carry out a check for formal completeness of voluntary sustainability reports (VSME) for you.

Preparing for the CSRD through the DNK

Are you obliged to sustainability reporting due to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)? We will show you how you can prepare ideally for the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) with the DNK.

Ihre Schritte mit dem DNK
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Olaf Scholz | Federal Chancellor
To mark the 1,000th user company on 12 April 2023
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I am delighted we now have 1,000 companies signed up to the German Sustainability Code. This plays a key role in building a sustainable economy here in Germany and around the globe. We need all hands on deck for the sustainable transition to succeed – including and especially the private sector. It is a huge success that firms large and small alike are voluntarily and transparently reporting on their activities based on the criteria set out in the German Sustainability Code. These companies are ‘pioneers of change’; they show how it can be done.

Who reports in line with the Code?

Over 1,000 companies are now making their sustainability performance transparent

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Database

3603 DNK-Declarations 1391 Companies

DNK-Database