In recent years, sustainability and environmental protection have become an important and often mandatory topic for companies. Transparent and credible sustainability reporting plays a key role in corporate sustainability performance.
| March 27, 2023
🕓 Reading time 5 minutes
Table of contents
1. More transparency and credibility in sustainability reporting through CO2-Key figures
2. Collection and management of CO2-Data for a sustainability report
3. How do I integrate my CO2-Data in the sustainability report?
4. National and international standards for CO2-Reporting
5. Best practice for the sustainability report with CO2-Key figures
1. More transparency and credibility in sustainability reporting through CO2-Key figures
Sustainability reporting is intended to provide an overview of a company's sustainability performance, including its environmental impacts. One of the most important aspects of sustainability reporting is the Transparency. Through transparent and comprehensive reporting, the Stakeholder trust in the company strengthened become.
In order to make sustainability reporting transparent, it should, wherever possible, be based on Key figures One of the most important indicators for measuring a company’s environmental impact is the CO2 footprint. By measuring its carbon footprint, a company can quantify its emissions and highlight progress in reducing carbon emissions.
Due to their relevance for transparent sustainability reporting, CO2 figures are among the mandatory elements any mandatory sustainability reporting, whether for the CSRD, the EU taxonomy or the ESG rating.
2. Collection and management of CO2-Data for a sustainability report
The lack of know-how in the area of sustainability indicators is a major challenge for many companies. Data collection and management therefore often requires external partners and software solutions.
For companies, the effort remains manageable with a reliable service provider, because a large part of the required Data already exists in accounting. The service provider identifies the associated data sources, has these transferred into the software and calculates the CO2 figures.
As a managing director, owner or sustainability manager, you too lack an overview of the new CSRD reporting obligation?
Our CSRD briefing offers a clear introduction to the topic
Green Vision Solutions is certified by TÜV Rheinland, awarded the Baden-Württemberg Founders' Prize 2022 and the Mannheim Business Start-up Prize 2023, accredited in the Competence Atlas for Resource Efficiency and Environmental Technology & Partner by FALK
As a managing director, owner or sustainability manager, you too lack an overview of the new CSRD reporting obligation?
Our CSRD briefing offers a clear introduction to the topic
Get a current and understandable information basis to get started with the new reporting obligation.
3. How do I integrate my CO2-Data in the sustainability report?
The selection relevant key figures and KPIs for reporting requires special expertise. The standards provide a breakdown of emissions into three scopes These should be reflected in the reporting to ensure comparability across multiple fiscal years and with other companies.
Relevant KPIs for reporting are the Emissions per employee and per turnover. Depending on the industry, other individual KPIs may be useful, such as emissions per m2 of sales area in retail.
Ideally, the selection and formulation of the relevant CO2 data for sustainability reporting is already covered by the collecting service provider. Text modules can then be incorporated directly into your own report, for example in the form of a Climate protection-Chapter in the sustainability report.
4. National and international standards for CO2-Reporting
In Germany there are various Standards and guidelines for corporate sustainability reporting. The most important ones include
- the standards of Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and
- the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard of the World Resources Institute (WRI)
Companies should consider these standards in their reporting to ensure that their sustainability reporting meets the current requirements and covers the relevant topics.
5. Best practice for the sustainability report with CO2-Key figures
Engelhorn GmbH & Co KGaA, a fashion and sports retailer with a turnover of €202.3 million (2020) and 1,480 employees, is giving the topic Climate protection has been gaining more weight in recent years. The sustainability report published in 2022 examines the the company’s ecological footprint in detail, as well as the Change in CO2 indicators over several years.
The sustainability report creates Transparency for customers, employees and business partners, shows where the company stands, what measures have already been initiated and what still lies ahead if economic and ecological interests are to be combined in the future.
Successfully into CO2Start management
Legal requirements and stakeholder requirements as well as practical implementation:
Resources, duration & approach
May 21, 2025, 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.
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