Global Goals Yearbook 2023 makes SDG impact measurable

within the EU. The focus is not only on
companies. At the same time, investors
should be shown how their investments
affect the environment and society. This
should also increase demand for sustainably
oriented investment products. In this
way, “banks can become sustainability
intermediaries,” notes Zenkner, “active
shapers of sustainable development.”
This is because they scrutinize certain
industries or business models, for example,
and thus financially support the
transformation.
The second approach to achieving binding
impact measurement is the Corporate
Sustainability Reporting Directive
(CSRD), which profoundly changes –
and expands – the scope and nature
of sustainability reporting by around
15,000 companies in Germany alone. The
transparency requirements imposed by
the EU Commission for this reporting go
far beyond the previous levels of nonfinancial
reporting. The key point is the
so-called double materiality: The effects
of the company’s activities on society and
the environment are investigated “inside
out.” Conversely – “outside in” – financial
impacts on the respective company
are identified through sustainability
aspects. The CSRD will be introduced in
2024 for companies already subject to
reporting requirements, in 2025 for all
other large companies, and in 2026 for
listed small and medium-sized companies.
Similarly, non-European companies
that generate more than €150 million
in net sales in the EU and have at least
one European subsidiary or branch are
to report in accordance with the CSRD.
The third – and according to Franziska
Zenkner, probably the most important –
driver is the employees in the companies.
They are increasingly recognizing the
added value of sustainable action “and
enabling the basis for cultural change
and deeper implementation,” Zenkner
writes. The more that stakeholders –
even beyond the workforce – are involved
in this transformation, the greater
the credibility of the actions: They mean
business!
Increase sustainable maturity level
for companies
With the help of impact measurement,
companies can communicate their level
of sustainability maturity and the quality
of their progressive sustainability management
more credibly to the capital
market and other stakeholders. In order
to measure the impact of sustainable
efforts, technical and organizational
prerequisites must be created.
Sustainable entrepreneurial action requires
innovative strength and a change
in values, which is why it is considered
a key factor for the future viability of
business models. The requirements of
the German government and the EU are
clear: Business is faced with the need for
28 Global Goals Yearbook 2023