About This Report

Content and Structure of the Report

This is our eighth Sustainability Report. It presents our company’s performance based on financial and non-financial information. The aim of this reporting is to create transparency and comparability for sustainability activities with other companies on the market.

This report presents the consolidated activities and performance of Vonovia SE, Europe’s leading private residential real estate company. Deutsche Wohnen SE is integrated in this consolidated report as a result of the merger that made the company part of the Vonovia Group from September 30, 2021.

The thematic focal points of the Sustainability Report are the five action areas that we identifiedas part of our materiality analysis – in accordance with the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for the selection of material topics.

• Environment and Climate
• Society and Contribution to Urban Development
• Homes and Customers
• Corporate Culture and Employees
• Sustainable Governance and Responsible Business Practices

The report is structured according to our sustainability activities, which reflect the material economic, social and ecological aspects of Vonovia SE.

Reporting Framework

This report has been prepared in accordance with the Universal Standards (as amended in 2021) of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The corresponding GRI content index can be found in the appendix to this report. We have informed GRI of the application of the GRI standards and the publication of this report.

Vonovia’s Sustainability Report is published on an annual basis. The reporting period relates to the 2022 fiscal year (January 1 to December 31, 2022), meaning that it picks up exactly where the 2021 Sustainability Report, which was published in April 2022, left off.

As a capital market-oriented company, Vonovia SE is also required to make disclosures in accordance with Sections 315b, 315c in conjunction with Sections 289c to 289e HGB (Non-financial Group Declaration). The necessary reporting requirements were implemented in the management report of the 2022 Annual Report, which was published March 17, 2023.

In order to address the diverse stakeholder interests transparently and comprehensively, we are also guided – in addition to the GRI – by the EPRA Best Practice Recommendations on Sustainability Reporting (sBPR) (in its third version of 2017). For this purpose, we have prepared a separate EPRA report, which we publish on our website. In addition, for the Real Estate reporting framework of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), we create a mapping of the indicators to the content published in this report.

In this report, we also report on the implementation of the recommendations made by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) (see Implementation of the TCFD Recommendations).

The collection and calculation of environmental key figures was headed by the Controlling department and supported by Land Management, Portfolio Management, Portfolio Controlling, Technical Service, Vonovia Energie- und Service GmbH, Customer Service, Data Management, Development/New Construction, Business Development, Procurement and the residential environment organization. The key figures for employees were collected and consolidated by the HR department. Land Management and Technical Service added further information regarding occupational safety. The social key figures were collected from Portfolio Management, Corporate Communications and Sustainability/Strategy. The central Procurement department prepared the statements relating to supplier management (procurement). Key figures from the governance area were provided by the Legal department and the Management Board and Supervisory Board office.

Both the Non-financial Group Declaration in the Annual Report and the quantitative disclosures regarding sustainability information in the Sustainability Report are audited by the auditor of the annual financial statements, KPMG. The Supervisory Board passed a corresponding resolution at its meeting on March 17, 2022 (see Supervisory Board Report). The scope of the audit of this Sustainability Report includes all information provided in the section “Key Figures” – with the exception of the associated disclosures and references in the GRI content index. The scope of the audit is supplemented by the chapter “About This Report.” However, the review of conformity with GRI – and therefore also the conformity review of the materiality analysis with GRI Universal Standards – is excluded from this audit scope. During the audit of the Non-financial Group Declaration, the materiality analysis was tested pursuant to HGB requirements, which also served as the basis for determining material topics according to GRI. The scope of the audit described here has been audited with limited assurance (see Independent Assurance Report). All references to content outside these indicated sections are considered additional information and are not covered by the audit performed by KPMG.

Organizational Boundaries/Scope of Consolidation

These key figures focus on the activities of Vonovia SE in Germany, Austria and Sweden using the financial control approach.

This includes the companies provided in the list of shareholdings in the 2022 Annual Report that are also included in the consolidated financial statements. Entities with minority interests are not included. Apartments owned by third parties are also not included.

Deutsche Wohnen SE is included in the consolidated reporting. All Deutsche Wohnen SE subsidiaries allocated to the Care segment and SYNVIA companies are an exception. 2022 was also dominated by the integration of processes in numerous subareas, meaning that no statements can be made for the subgroup Deutsche Wohnen, especially regarding specific program structures and key figures. This will only be possible for the 2023 reporting year, following the complete adjustment of process structures. We explicitly refer to the scope of the key figures in the table of key figures. The figures reported for the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years refer to the Vonovia Group excluding Deutsche Wohnen.

A methodological adjustment was made for individual figures in the reporting year – especially in the portfolio for calculating carbon intensity, the proportion of renewables in heating supply, waste volumes and water consumption. In the field of business operations, a methodological adjustment was primarily made in the calculation of mobile combustion consumption. We explain the changes in detail in the relevant table of key figures.

Data aggregation was performed at the level of individual countries and the information was consolidated at this level and at overall Group level. For data relating to our buildings, this means a breakdown of scope (based on rental space) of 86.6% for Germany, 4.9% for Austria and 8.6% for Sweden. For data relating to personnel key figures (based on headcount) the scope is: 92.5% for Germany, 3.2% for Austria and 4.3% for Sweden.

The basic definition of the scope of the Sustainability Report on the consolidated companies is regularly reviewed for the next reporting cycle, and adjusted if necessary.