Sustainability is a core guiding principle in the Cooperative Financial Network, which upholds its responsibility to support the transition to a more sustainable economy. In doing so, it is pursuing its strategy of doing business sustainably for the benefit of society, the environment, and the regions in which it operates. The Cooperative Financial Network derives its strength from shared cooperative values and an open and transparent culture.

For more than 170 years, the cooperative banks have been supporting, encouraging, and advising local people and companies through their financial services and playing their role as a financial services provider for the real economy through lending based on responsible principles.

They operate and do business on the basis of mutuality: Each cooperative bank belongs to its members, who benefit from the strength and solidarity of a powerful community. And, in a wide variety of ways, the local cooperative banks share their economic success with the region in which they are based. For example, they play a proactive role in the economic, social, and cultural development of their local area. They expand their cooperative network structure through donations, sponsorship, and the voluntary activities of their employees in the community. At the same time, the remit to provide development finance defines the sustainable value creation process at the core of their day-to-day business. The institutions in the Cooperative Financial Network continue to pursue their goal of updating their values-based business model for the future, in dialogue with their members and for their benefit.

The implementation of sustainability requirements calls for effective collaboration between the institutions of the Cooperative Financial Network, the BVR, and the network’s regional banking associations, as well as other cooperative partner companies, their service providers, and specialist organizations. Back in 2020, these stakeholders therefore agreed, in the context of the network’s sustainability guidelines, to play a greater part in supporting global sustainability objectives.

At the end of 2023, the BVR Association Council recommended the implementation of specific levels of ambition for the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions:

• Environmental: achieve climate neutrality (net zero) in operations by 2045
• Social: maintain the engagement volume in the region at no less than its current level
• Governance: aim for a membership ratio of 75 percent of customers in the long term

Further, subordinated ESG key figures were developed in 2025. These include the proportion of renewable energy (relative to total energy consumption), the proportion of female first-level managers (including the Board of Managing Directors) and, as a demographic factor, the ratio of employees under the age of 30 to employees over the age of 55. In addition, a maturity level was introduced within the sustainability cockpit that indicates the development stage that the cooperative banks have reached with their sustainability activities, ranging from a few individual activities to systematic management or even full integration into their strategy, processes, core business, and corporate culture. These key figures were made available to the institutions in the Cooperative Financial Network in the first half of 2026. This provides the institutions with greater assistance with their strategic management of sustainability within their organization.

The BVR’s center of excellence for sustainability was established to coordinate sustainability activities. Its responsibilities include the strategic coordination of sustainability as an interdisciplinary topic, the further development of the sustainability strategy, the implementation of the sustainability guidelines, and taking on a leading role regarding sustainability-related advocacy activities and providing support for the relevant dialogue formats and working groups.

One of the main support tools is the web-based sustainability portal, provided by the Cooperative Financial Network’s specialized service provider DG Nexolution. Nearly all of the cooperative banks have now registered for the portal, which offers a variety of features. These include the sustainability cockpit, which is a systematic self-assessment tool, and implementation checklists, guidelines, production solutions, training, bank case studies, and a moderated discussion forum.

In 2025, a key focus of the BVR’s activities was the continued integration of sustainability aspects into the core business of the institutions. The initiative ‘Nachhaltigkeit in Wirkung bringen’ (putting sustainability into effect) was launched in May 2025, thereby restructuring the support services for the member institutions. The aim of the initiative is to comprehensively integrate sustainability into the cooperative banks in six action areas: strategy, risk management &strategic bank management, business operations, core business, communication & society, and corporate culture. In terms of operations, for example, the framework for ESG-focused finance solutions was expanded in 2025 to include retail customer business with a focus on consumer home finance. With regard to regulation, the BVR is concentrating on helping the institutions to implement the updated Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the objective of which is to simplify and harmonize sustainability reporting requirements.

An extensive portfolio of sustainability products is becoming established across the Cooperative Financial Network. These products are distributed by the cooperative banks. The entities in the DZ BANK Group have also established various products, concepts, and processes that are based on environmental, social, and ethical criteria.

The Cooperative Financial Network’s climate initiative ‘Morgen kann kommen’ (we’re ready for tomorrow) has been running for a number of years and pursues two objectives. Firstly, the initiative aims to consolidate communications in connection with the member institutions’ many local climate action projects. Secondly, the cooperative banks support a large number of charitable projects in their respective regions each year and wish to increase the proportion that relate to the environment.

The two Germany-wide projects launched in partnership with woodland protection organization Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald (SDW) have seen strong take-up. Under the auspices of the ‘Wurzeln’ (roots) project, along with other tree planting schemes at local level, more than 1.3 million saplings have been funded by the Cooperative Financial Network over the past five years. A recent study conducted by the Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW) [Institute for Ecological Economy Research] shows that the cost/benefit ratio is very positive, with the benefits far outweighing the costs – even when the effects on climate change are viewed in isolation. This provides evidence of the advantages of reforestation for the whole of society. In addition, the cooperative banks have so far provided funding for around 1,290 elementary school classes as part of the climate education project ‘Wir und der Wald’ (the forest and us), which has been running since June 2023.

Since summer 2025, it has also been possible for private individuals to get involved with the ‘Wurzeln’ tree planting scheme. Donations starting at €7.50 per sapling can be made to support tree planting in twelve selected afforestation projects in Germany.

All in all, around 290 institutions participated in local climate projects. Information on these engagement activities is published online at https://klima-initiative.vr.de.

Every year, the BVR conducts a Germany-wide survey of all member institutions in order to record information on corporate citizenship in the Cooperative Financial Network. This provides tangible proof of how the different engagement activities in the regions combine to create a force to be reckoned with at national level and highlights the contribution that the Cooperative Financial Network makes to society (CSR reports and CSR portal of the cooperative banks, www.vielefuerviele.de).

An internal survey found that the Cooperative Financial Network continued to fulfill its role as a champion of the regions in various ways in 2025. It showed that the institutions of the Cooperative Financial Network provided voluntary financial assistance totaling €141.0 million to people in Germany. Of this sum, €99.5 million was donated and €41.4 million was in the form of sponsorship for the benefit of people in local communities. The institutions provided an additional €6.6 million in the form of benefits in kind – such as donations of goods and free services – for the benefit of local people and organizations.

The foundation assets of the Cooperative Financial Network amounted to €265.5 million as at December 31, 2025. In line with the sustainability and long-term orientation of the Cooperative Financial Network’s business philosophy, this commitment to charitable foundations represents a very durable way of backing local projects.

Further matters close to the heart of the Cooperative Financial Network are promoting financial literacy and raising awareness of sustainable practices – among its employees, their children, and in society at large.

In accordance with the fundamental idea of the cooperative movement, the members of a cooperative are both its owners and its customers – and this is also the case for the members of the cooperative banks.

The cooperative banking remit to provide development finance entails collaboration in a spirit of partnership. It also defines the strategic focus and how it is underpinned by ethical business practices: According to section 1 of the German Cooperative Act (GenG), the nature of the business has to be oriented to the long-term success of its members. One factor in achieving this objective is to avoid sustainability-related risk and seize sustainability-related opportunities. Based on the cooperative principles of partnership, personal responsibility, and helping people to help themselves, cooperatives and cooperative banks are called upon to support their members through sustainable transformation processes.

The cooperative governance structure – combining the annual general meeting or general assembly of representatives and the supervisory boards of the individual cooperative banks (whose members are mostly businesspeople and distinguished persons from the relevant region) – is designed to ensure broad involvement in, and control of, the individual banks. The BVR believes that this promotes transparency, strengthens involvement in the democratic process, and makes it possible to incorporate different perspectives into business decisions, especially in view of the current sustainability-related challenges.