DNK – the free platform for your sustainability reporting

Are you part of the supply chain of partner companies subject to mandatory reporting? Perhaps you need to provide sustainability information for financing? Or your customers simply expect transparency from you? Nowadays, even small and medium-sized enterprises are having to provide sustainability data to remain competitive – regardless of whether they are legally required to report. At the same time, the requirements are complex and often difficult to navigate.

This is where the German Sustainability Code (DNK) comes in, providing a practical solution for preparing sustainability reports. Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), the free DNK Platform guides you step by step through the entire process, making your work far easier. For more information see our fact sheet “The DNK at a glance”.

With over 5,000 companies signed up, the DNK Platform is the most popular tool for SMEs in Germany

From trade and crafts businesses to industrial enterprises, more than 5,000 companies use the DNK platform to save time preparing their digital sustainability reports.

They particularly appreciate the following:

• All DNK services are free
• With over 15 years of experience supporting companies with their sustainability reporting, the DNK is a tried-and-tested reporting tool
• The services have been developed in close consultation with businesses and are specially tailored to the needs of SMEs
• The process is clearly structured and easy to understand
• Once entered, data can be used multiple times

In fünf Schritten zum fertigen Nachhaltigkeitsbericht

1. Register, select the relevant reporting standard (ESRS or VSME) and start your report.
2. Enter your sustainability information on the DNK Platform using the structured checklists.
3. Complete your report, adjust it to your corporate design and export it as a Word, PDF or XBRL file.
4. Have ESRS reports checked by your company’s auditor, or for VSME reports request a DNK plausibility check for consistency, coherence, ease of understanding and formal completeness by DNK expert reviewers.
5. Optional: Publish your report on the DNK website.

What does a completed sustainability report look like?
Here you’ll find examples of completed VSME-based reports that have already been published on the DNK Platform: View VSME reports.

Still not sure where to start?
Check out the media centre of our DNK Sustainability Campus. You’ll find video explainers, classifications of current topics, guides and publications such as “Five steps to your VSME report” or “The case for voluntary reporting at a glance”.  

What the DNK Platform offers

• Checklists: ESRS and VSME requirements are clearly presented in the DNK Checklists
• DNK assistant: Step-by-step guidance with comprehensive practical support
• Progress indicator: Keep track of your progress as you work
• Teamwork: Use the comment function to allocate tasks to colleagues and stay in the loop with your team
• Sector-specific support: Practical tips and examples make VSME reports easier to prepare
• Optimised readability: Display your completed report as continuous text – ideal for final checks
• Export options: Export your finished report as a Word, PDF or XBRL file
• DNK plausibility check: VSME reports that pass this check can bear the DNK user signet

Switching to the new DNK Platform

Our aim is to make the transition to the new platform as smooth as possible for everyone who has previously worked with the DNK database and prepared declarations under the old standard – whether they report voluntarily or are subject to mandatory reporting. You can still submit DNK declarations for 2025 in the existing DNK database until 30 November 2026.

The VSME-DNK gap analysis provides support for companies that have previously submitted DNK declarations and now wish to report under the VSME standard. On the new DNK platform, the company profile from the existing DNK database can be imported after initial registration. Get started!