German Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Jung awards chemical company and eco-pioneer with first places for their exemplary sustainability reports
A long-established German corporate group and a pioneer of the environmental sector have been distinguished as the best reporters in an evaluation of over one hundred German corporate sustainability reports carried out by the Berlin based Institute for Ecological Economy Research and the business initiative “Future”. In the category major enterprises, the chemical company BASF achieved the highest number of points in the IÖW/Future-Ranking, followed by Siemens and BMW. The mail order company Memo, which provides environmentally friendly office supplies, was distinguished as the best reporter among the small and middle-sized enterprise (SME). The eco-brewery Neumarkter Lammsbräu and the Berlin based communication agency Johanssen und Kretschmer came in second and third in the category SME. Over 1000 guests from the political arena, business and civil society are expected. On November 23 the winners were awarded by the Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Franz Josef Jung and Volker Hauff, the Chairman of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) at RNE’s annual conference in Berlin.
The appraisal of German sustainability reports shows what companies are best able to satisfy the criteria for good reporting. Based on a comprehensive list of criteria, IÖW and Future have closely examined the corporate reports. On the one hand, overarching criteria such as sustainability strategy and management were applied. On the other hand, the concrete activities of the companies, e.g. with regards to employee concerns, ecological aspects in production and responsibility in the supply chain, were thoroughly examined. The IÖW/Future-ranking of sustainability reports has been assessing and influencing German corporate sustainability reporting on social and ecological challenges and activities for 15 years now. The criteria of this independent and recognised evaluation make a contribution to setting the ever-rising standard for credible corporate sustainability reporting. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the German Council for Sustainable Development contribute with significant support to the ranking of sustainability reports.