Sustainability in mechanical engineering: SMEs in the focus of new reporting!

Sustainability in mechanical engineering: SMEs in the focus of new reporting!

The importance of sustainability in German mechanical and plant engineering is constantly increasing. This is largely thanks to EU Directive 2022/2464, which aims to create a uniform framework for corporate sustainability reporting. The regulations particularly affect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are not yet obliged to report, but must determine their ecological footprint along the entire logistics chain. This growing need for transparency and sustainability is reflected in a new research project at the University of Kassel.

This project is led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sigrid Wenzel and Prof. Dr. Christoph Laroque and has the goal of developing an IT platform for determining the CO2 footprint of customer-specific unique items. The platform is intended to provide a comprehensive approach that includes data collection, analysis, calculation, visualization and forecasting of the carbon footprint. The focus is on the production processes and the logistical sub-processes that are relevant until the system is handed over to the customer. The implementation of the IT platform is being evaluated as a demonstrator at several SMEs, which gives the project practical relevance and realistic application. The project receives financial support from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) via the German Aerospace Center (DLR), with a duration from February 2025 to October 2026.

A supportive network

A project-accompanying committee supports the projects and is made up of members from business and associations. Participating companies include Alpha Sigma GmbH, Siemens AG and ams.Solution AG. The first meeting of the committee will take place online on April 8, 2025, which will enable interactive consultation on this pioneering project. Further information can be found online on the project website accountlog.de be retrieved.

The need for SMEs to address the requirements of sustainability reporting is reinforced by current developments in the legal framework. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) obliges many capital market-oriented SMEs to disclose sustainability information in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Even companies that are not directly obliged to do so could come under pressure from stakeholder demands.

Standardization of reporting

The SME reporting pilot group, which was launched by the German Accounting Standards Committee (DRSC) and the Council for Sustainable Development (RNE), has developed proposals for standards for sustainability reporting by SMEs. These proposals were submitted to EFRAG at the end of December 2022 and relate to the introduction of simplified approaches to identifying material reporting content. The aim of these efforts is to minimize complexity and administrative burden for SMEs.

A position paper calls for the need for standardized, reduced reporting requirements with regard to sustainability, which can be supplemented on a voluntary basis. These minimum requirements should also be compatible with existing EU and national requirements as well as international standards. To support SMEs in implementing the new requirements, providing simple digital solutions for sustainability reporting is crucial.

The project at the University of Kassel and the developments in the area of ​​sustainability reporting mark important steps towards a more sustainable and transparent economy that takes both ecological and economic aspects into account and thus strengthens the competitiveness of German industry.