CONTRIBUTION TO THE FUTURE
CORESTATE was named “Germany’s most valuable company” in the category of real estate investment companies by Focus Money in a scientific study where the topic was ESG “Ecology, Economy & Social Value”.
CORESTATE was the test winner with 100/100 points.
“Together with the Institute for Management and Economic Research (IMWF) – and with scientific support from the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) – we investigated what companies in Germany are doing in terms of sustainability, what responsibility they are assuming, how they are reporting on it, and how deeply the issue is rooted in their corporate DNA. The results on the following pages show: Valuable – as defined in this study – is not about market capitalization. This study is about what companies do for their employees and society. The industry winner received 100 points, setting the benchmark for all other companies in the sector that were examined.” – Source: deutschlandtest.de/wertvollsteunternehmen/
When people talk about the “most valuable companies” on the stock exchange, they are usually referring to market capitalization. It is easy to calculate: The number of shares in circulation is multiplied by the current stock market price. The result is the sum that would have to be raised to buy the company. Nevertheless, the arithmetical value is only one side of the coin.
A valuable company does not automatically have to be big, powerful and expensive. Depending on the definition of the term “valuable,” the opposite may even be true. Doesn’t a company also make a valuable contribution to society and its future if it is committed to the topic of sustainability? Isn’t it also valuable to take
on ecological, economic and social responsibility and to exemplify this in day-to-day business?
GERMANY TEST looked into these questions. Together with the Institute for Management and Economic Research (IMWF) – and with scientific support from the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) – the study investigated what companies in Germany are doing in terms of sustainability, what responsibility they assume, how they report on it and how deeply the issue is rooted in their company DNA.
The results on the next pages show that valuable – as defined in this study – is not about market capitalization. This study is about what companies do for their employees and society. Proportionally, this can be much more for a small company than for a large one.
The study “Germany’s Most Valuable Companies” was based on various data sources – including a list of the largest German companies (by number of employees) and the DNK (German Sustainability Code) database. The prerequisite for inclusion in the evaluation was the existence of a sustainability report or a written statement on the topic of sustainability from 2018 or later. If available, the most recent edition was included in the evaluation (as of the end of May 2021).
(published in FOCUS 34/2019 of August 21, 2021)
Test fields
The GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standard served as a guide for the evaluation of the individual reports. According to this, reporting on the topic of sustainability is divided into three areas: firstly, ecological responsibility (with the subcategories of emissions intensity, resource intensity, waste generation and recycling, supply chain control). Second, economic responsibility (innovative capability, economic performance, quality corporate governance). And third, social responsibility (occupational health and safety, quality of employment, absence of discrimination, product safety, control of the supply chain with regard to social aspects). Reports from companies that do not follow this scheme could nevertheless be analysed on the basis of these three categories by assigning the topics addressed to the fields accordingly. The weighting of each of these three test fields was 20 percent.
In addition to the GRI categories, three further test fields were included in the assessment: firstly, the type of report (whether it is a stand-alone sustainability report, a subchapter in the annual report or another format; weighting ten percent). Secondly, the structure of the report (whether the company takes a position on the GRI topics in a clear form, only addresses them in a general and superficial way, or makes no reference to the three sustainability pillars; ten percent). And thirdly, the hierarchical integration of the topic of sustainability in the company (at which level responsibility lies; 20 percent).
Evaluation
A point value was determined for each of the six assessment fields. These individual values were added to the total score on the basis of their weighting. The timeliness, scope and audit type of the report were also taken into account. The award for “Germany’s most valuable companies” was based on the number of points achieved in the overall ranking. The score was calculated on an industry-specific basis on a scale of 0 to 100 points. The industry winner received 100 points and thus set the benchmark for all other companies in the industry surveyed. An award was given to those companies that achieved at least 60 points. The study was scientifically supported by the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI).
