{"id":4202,"date":"2024-08-20T07:03:09","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T07:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/verso.de\/blog\/the-history-of-the-sustainability-report-how-it-has-developed\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T07:45:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T07:45:47","slug":"the-history-of-the-sustainability-report-how-it-has-developed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verso.de\/en\/blog\/the-history-of-the-sustainability-report-how-it-has-developed\/","title":{"rendered":"The history of the sustainability report: how it has developed"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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20.08.2024<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The history of the sustainability report: how it has evolved<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe history of the sustainability report begins in the 1980s, when the first voluntary environmental reports were published.\nA lot has happened since then – right up to mandatory reporting.\nRead about the milestones and drivers that have shaped the ESG report and how the reports have developed in terms of depth and quality. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\t\n\n\n\t

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History of the sustainability report from 1980-2000: The era of environmental reports<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The history of the sustainability report goes back to the 1980s. But for the introduction to this blog article, let’s go back a little further. This will help us to understand why the topic of sustainability and ESG suddenly became so popular. Let’s transport ourselves back to the early 1970s, so to speak. The world was characterized by rapid change and far-reaching social, economic and political developments. The Cold War dominated international politics. The oil crisis made people aware of their dependence on fossil fuels and their finite nature. Economic growth and industrialization continued.
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At the same time, however, environmental conditions deteriorated, for example due to polluted air and water. <\/span>It was precisely at this time that a book was published that attracted worldwide attention. The title: “The Limits to Growth”. It was published by the Club of Rome<\/a>, an association of scientists, economists, business people and former politicians. This was a turning point. The Club of Rome played a central role in ensuring that the issues of environmental awareness and sustainability were recognized globally for the first time. But here we need to put the brakes on: not everything changed immediately. Awareness was only gradually followed by action. But there have already been the first Forerunner of the sustainability report.
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In the 1980s, chemical companies published so-called environmental reports on their environmental activities. These were voluntary and mainly served to improve their image, as the industry was subject to strong criticism. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1990s, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) followed suit and became involved in environmental issues. <\/span>However, the reports of the time were still a decade away from the holistic approach of today’s sustainability reports. Only then did the consideration of all ESG aspects – i.e. environmental, social and corporate governance – become established.<\/p>\n

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Before we continue our journey through time, let’s take a<\/span> look at a few highlights from the years of environmental reports:<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n