German Council for Sustainable Development: The Sustainability Code

Abstract

Sustainability is becoming a decision making criterion for an increasing number of people. Nevertheless, there is no definition which is generally applicable. In fact, Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept, which makes comparison across different legal spheres difficult. This is because it is a concept, which by definition exceeds jurisdiction. This leads to arbitrary and diffuse definitions, competing benchmarks as well as additional expenses and efforts for reporters. To turn sustainability into a distinguishing feature, which is based on a resilient, comparable set of data, standardisation needs to take place. The German Council for Sustainable Development subsequently developed the German Sustainability Code and recommends its use for corporations. This article describes the approach the Sustainability Code offers for the implementation of sustainable value creation.