7. Corporate Sustainability Management in Large German Companies

This chapter introduces the results of the German sample of the International Corporate Sustainability Barometer (ICSB) and compares them with the results of the international average. German companies are generally perceived as comprehensively engaging in environmental and social issues. However, when analysing the results of the ICSB survey, it is striking how close German companies are to the international average rather than standing out. Nonetheless, some particularities can be found, for instance with regard to the awareness and application of employee-related sustainability management tools, which are more pronounced in German companies than on international average. There are also some negative deviations, such as the less close management of the freedom of association. Since German companies make up a very large share of the total sample (almost one-third), the results are not only compared to the overall international average but also to an alternative average excluding the German results. Possible explanations for the mediocre average positioning of the German companies are given and the potential for sustainability management is identified.