UNDER THE SIGN OF THE DNK.

It has been online since July 3, 2023. Published on the DNK website: our Sustainability Statement for the reporting year 2022. Why now? Why at the DNK? And what follows from it?

The question is rather: why only now? The answer: everything needs its time. And now the time was ripe. In recent years and months, we have taken successive steps toward sustainability. Small steps like switching from coffee pods to freshly ground beans. Bigger ones like choosing green electricity. And we have initiated – for some of us – the switch from internal combustion vehicles to e-vehicles, which takes some getting used to. We allow our employees to lease e-bikes. And most recently, two bee colonies in our garden have been producing sustainable organic honey. Last year, our sustainable snack box was already a great hit with our customers and employees. In the meantime, we are putting our entire value chain to the test. These were all steps that – if taken to their logical conclusion – would lead to an official sustainability declaration. The question was: which platform?

The German Sustainability Code has its origins in the German Council for Sustainable Development, which is made up of 15 experts from business, science, politics and society and advises the German government on sustainability issues. The Sustainability Code was launched in 2010. Based on 20 criteria, it transparently and comparably evaluates the sustainability efforts of companies and organizations in the areas of strategy and process management as well as in the aspects of environment and society. The report is purely formal. It merely documents the current status. For this reason, the Sustainability Code mark is not a certificate, but merely a signet that is awarded to Sustainability Code users who have gone through the reporting process. In the meantime, more than 1,000 companies have done so. We have now done the same.

For us, sustainable communication means doing and recommending what makes sense and is useful – as always from an economic point of view, but now increasingly also from an ecological and social point of view. In addition to the short- and medium-term perspective, the focus is therefore increasingly shifting to the long-term impact. In this respect, we know that many of our joint projects – from sustainability reports to sustainable trade fair booths – put us in line with many of our customers and many of our suppliers. In other words: consulting in sustainable communication is definitely one of our declared goals. Precisely because the topic is relevant and this relevance will continue to grow in the future. Here, we see ourselves as an impetus provider who wants to clarify the implications of sustainability communication externally and internally for our customers and tap into its potential – for example, for employer branding, but also for cooperations.

Conversely, this also applies to ourselves – and our own internal communications. We create internal forms of participation that enable all our employees to contribute their ideas to the sustainable design of our processes. Because it makes us better and stronger as an agency, increases the identification of our employees and enhances our attractiveness as an employer for potential applicants.

Our thanks goes to Dr. Hellwig from the Institute for Sustainability Education, who accompanied us on our way to the DNK Sustainability Report.

We have an eye for brands.
And an ear to listen and support.