Reporting standards
Annual financial statements
The annual financial statements and management report of DB AG as prepared by the Management Board, and the consolidated financial statements and Group management report as of December 31, 2024, were audited by KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (KPMG), the auditors appointed at the Annual General Meeting, and issued with an unqualified audit opinion.
Sustainability reporting
The 2024 Integrated Report relates to the reporting/calendar year 2024. To enable a comparison of the figures, values from the financial years 2023 and 2022 are also presented for the majority of the key figures. The Integrated Report is published annually. The 2024 Integrated Report is set to be published on March 27, 2025 (2023 Integrated Report: March 21, 2024). The Integrated Report addresses the main stakeholder groups of DB Group. The reporting covers all material economic, social and environmental aspects. All fully consolidated companies of DB Group (excluding discontinued operations) are included in the reporting. Deviations from this reporting scope or period are noted as such.
The data collection methods and bases of calculation used for the data in the Integrated Report are based on the relevant standards:
- CSR-RUG: We implement the requirements of the CSR Directive Implementation Act (CSR-RUG). Information on the key areas of action can be found in the non-financial statement.
- GRI Standards: The Integrated Report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. In the GRI Index, we refer to content on general and specific disclosures.
- EU Taxonomy: In the 2024 Integrated Report, we are reporting for the first time the “ecologically sustainable” share of our revenues, capital expenditures (Capex) and operating expenses (Opex) pursuant to the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
- TCFD: In addition, DB Group presents information in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) on reporting climate-related information. The TCFD index refers to the relevant passages.
- UN Global Compact: The Integrated Report also contains information on the implementation of the ten principles of the UN Global Compact (UNGC).
- External audit: Material sustainability-related content, indicators and text passages that do not fall within the scope of the statutory audit of the management report with reasonable assurance are indicated by arrow markings at the beginning ( ) and end ( ) of the corresponding passage and gray font color and are audited with limited assurance by an independent third party, KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (KPMG), commissioned separately by the Executive Board. The preparation of the combined management report in accordance with the GRI Standards is a part of the audit.
Selection of sustainability topics
Procedure
To determine our key sustainability topics, we conducted a material analysis for the first time in 2024 in reference to the requirements of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in conjunction with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). DB Group is expected to report in accordance with ESRS from the 2025 financial year.
Derivation of GRI topics
To determine the material topics according to GRI, in a final step we clustered the 23 material topics from the materiality analysis in reference to the requirements of the CSRD based on previous GRI reporting and topics and assigned them to or supplemented those previous topics.
Our DB sustainability topics are made up of:
- Material topics according to GRI: were expanded compared to the previous year to include the additional topics of environmental pollution, biodiversity, occupational health and safety in the supply chain and noise reduction. The topic of product quality and customer benefits was expanded to include the aspect of customer information. The topics of capacity expansion of the infrastructure and vehicle fleet as well as solutions for modern and digital mobility, logistics and service were merged into the single topic, capacity and service expansion. The topicsof economic performance capability and dealing with politics and regulations have been removed from this year’s GRI materiality.
- Topics from our transparency aspiration: arise from our comprehensive transparency aspiration towards our stakeholders.
- Additional topics: supplemented on the basis of an internal assessment of their significance.
Non-financial Statement
DB Group has decided to voluntarily issue a non-financial statement (NFS). As part of our integrated reporting approach, we report comprehensively on all significant sustainability issues.
The update of the materiality analysis based on the first-time materiality analysis in line with the requirements of the CSRD in conjunction with the ESRS in 2024 resulted in extensive changes with regard to the material areas of action within the meaning of the CSR Directive Implementation Act (CSR-RUG): as a result, the topics climate protection, capacity and service expansion as well as product quality, customer benefit and information were classified as material. The contents of the NFE can be found in the relevant chapters of the combined management report and were prepared using the GRI standards. We also provide additional information on further matters.
| Components of the NFS | DB topics |
|---|---|
| Business model | Business model |
| Social matters | Capacity and service expansion |
| Environmental matters | Climate protection |
| Other concerns (customer benefit and product quality) | Customer benefit and product quality, Customer benefit and information |
| Further information | |
| Environmental matters | Nature conservation, Air quality control, Water use |
| Employee matters | Work of the future, Employment conditions, Corporate security, Transformation |
| Respect for human rights | Human rights |
| Combating corruption and bribery | Compliance |