CHECKN – WHAT IS IT?

When B.A.U.M. Consult visited us in June for the CheckN, we were genuinely curious about what to expect.

The “N” in CheckN stands for sustainability, and of course, it is about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – that much was clear.

EXPLANATION

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs for short, form the core of the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” adopted by the United Nations (UN) in New York in September 2015.

This agenda was jointly signed by all UN member states and serves as a political roadmap, outlining social, ecological, and economic aspects of sustainable development.

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security
Goal 3: Good health and well-being
Goal 4: Quality education
Goal 5: Gender equality
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
Goal 9: Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Goal 13: Climate action
Goal 14: Life below water
Goal 15: Life on land
Goal 16: Peace, justice, and strong institutions
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals

In the next step, the 17 SDGs were broken down into a total of 169 targets. These provide more detailed descriptions of the SDGs and address possible implementations, both financially and structurally. Governments worldwide have committed to these goals, but sustainability is a collective effort. Countries, municipalities, companies, and individuals alike are called upon to contribute to their implementation.

Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General, described the private sector as an “indispensable partner in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.” He stated that companies can contribute through their core business by measuring the impact of their actions, setting ambitious targets, and communicating progress transparently.

OUR MAIN TASKS DURING CHECKN

1. Under professional and independent guidance, identify the SDGs most relevant to HAN and its stakeholders.
2. Analyze how the company is already addressing these SDGs with content and action.
3. Derive recommendations and concrete measures to improve performance in achieving these goals.

THE WORKSHOP WITH B.A.U.M. CONSULT WAS INCREDIBLY FUN

We examined many areas and topics in detail and had constructive discussions about potential improvements. During the workshop, we were able to see the company from entirely new perspectives. Initially, it was hard to believe that the rather globally formulated SDGs could be translated into our company’s goals and strategies. But it quickly became clear that we, as a company, can indeed make a meaningful contribution.

RESULT: 7 SDGs ARE OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE FOR HAN

Goal 4: Quality education
Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
Goal 9: Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Goal 13: Climate action
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals

For these SDGs, there are concrete ideas and recommendations to ensure that HAN can not only operate more sustainably in the future but also perform better overall.

CHECKN CONNECTIONS TO SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS

The central elements of all common sustainability reports, such as strategy, materiality, and stakeholders, are reported in the German Sustainability Code (DNK). Other criteria, such as resource management, product innovations, or societal topics like human rights and equal opportunities, are also addressed in the DNK.

Additionally, there are 28 non-financial performance indicators based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The 9 indicators in the environmental area are well covered by the ongoing ÖKOPROFIT project. The evaluation conducted during CheckN also captures many other DNK-related topics: from materiality, derived from the weighting of the SDGs, to strategy and goal-setting in these key areas.

SDG 17 addresses the crucial issue of stakeholders and the quality of dialogue and relationships with them. Another important criterion in the DNK “Society” chapter concerns employees, their rights, training, absenteeism, etc. These issues are also addressed in various SDGs. The gap between DNK and SDGs is therefore relatively small. SDGs and DNK overlap in many areas, logically linking sustainability topics that a company should consider within its core business.

We are pleased that CheckN has provided such a solid foundation for our ongoing sustainability reporting journey.