The current edition describes comprehensively all of the company's key sustainability aspects, the key progress made in 2021, and provides information on the objectives for further sustainability development.

A key milestone last year was the creation of the conditions for issuing the Green Pfandbrief, which DZ HYP successfully placed on the market in February 2022. Furthermore, the updated assessment by the ISS-ESG sustainability rating agency in the year under review underlines the bank's high level in this area. As in the previous year, DZ HYP was again awarded "prime status" in the "Financials/Mortgage & Public Sector Finance" peer group, and was rated "C". This puts the bank above the industry average in terms of its environmental, social, and economic sustainability performance.

It also provides information on the increased level of ambition in DZ HYP's efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. In line with the German government's climate path, the bank, together with the companies of the DZ BANK Group, aims to be climate neutral by 2045 at the latest. The report also addresses the internal "culture project" launched at the end of 2021. Within this framework, a common understanding of what makes the bank special is being developed at DZ HYP, in order to remain attractive to customers and employees alike.

"We are pleased to be able to present our tenth Sustainability Report. It is one of the most important communication tools for us, both internally and externally," explains Stefan Heckerodt, Sustainability Officer at DZ HYP. "For us as a cooperative real estate bank, corporate and social responsibility is an integral part of our culture. In this context, sustainability offers the chance of working together towards a positive future. We seize this opportunity while taking into account the needs of employees, society, and the environment."

The report is published in balance sheet form based on the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and is available for download in German and English.