The KÖTTER CSR Report 2025 impressively documents how a long-established service provider combines its business activities with ecological and social responsibility. The foreword makes it clear that, after more than nine decades on the market, the group sees itself not only as a service provider but also as a shaper of sustainable development. But how do the individual building blocks – from diversity and climate protection to employee engagement and social solidarity – fit together in concrete terms, and where are the levers for an even more effective CSR strategy?

Diversity as a driver of innovation

‘Powered by Diversity’ is the title of KÖTTER’s first chapter. Diverse teams are proven to be more creative and better at solving problems¹. The report rightly emphasises that heterogeneous experiences and perspectives enable peak performance. KÖTTER could strengthen this approach even further by explicitly promoting neurodiversity and the potential of career changers in addition to the classic diversity dimensions (gender, age, nationality). Such an expansion would not only further increase innovative strength, but also cushion the shortage of skilled workers, which is addressed in Chapter 3.

Ecological sustainability: between aspiration and implementation

In the section ‘Protecting the environment, driving green change’, KÖTTER refers to a strategic reduction of its corporate carbon footprint based on a materiality analysis. This multi-stage approach is in line with best practices in environmental management². However, the Civey study cited shows that climate protection is losing priority in the public perception – a risk for the credibility of sustainability activities³. This presents an opportunity: KÖTTER can strengthen internal and external motivation through transparent reporting on individual sources of emissions (e.g., vehicle fleet, energy consumption in properties) and specific interim targets (e.g., 15% reduction by 2027).

Focus on employee retention: Beyond benefits

The report emphasises that attractive working conditions and benefits are essential today. The market is characterised by a shortage of skilled workers and increasing demands. KÖTTER cites pay, training, work-life balance and appreciative leadership as key elements – a solid foundation. However, in order to systematically increase employee satisfaction, regular, anonymous employee surveys with published key figures would be desirable. In addition, a mentoring programme for junior staff and management development could be established to further intensify knowledge transfer and loyalty to the company.

Social commitment: Solidarity as a corporate purpose

In the section ‘Solidarity in action’, KÖTTER highlights its network commitment and focus on health and shaping the industry. This is in line with the trend of companies taking responsibility beyond their core businesses. A closer look at specific projects (e.g. volunteer hours, partnerships with NGOs, promotion of local health initiatives) would make the impact more measurable. Furthermore, cooperation with civil protection organisations – such as BayZBE – would be a good way to provide joint professional support at major events or in crisis situations, thereby further strengthening resilience in society.

Conclusion and outlook

The KÖTTER CSR Report 2025 paints a comprehensive picture of a group of companies that closely links economic success with environmental and social responsibility. Solid concepts are evident in all four areas of action – diversity, climate protection, employee satisfaction and social commitment. At the same time, there is still potential for improvement: more explicit target definitions with milestones, increased transparency through key performance indicators and the expansion of partnerships (e.g. in civil protection) could take the CSR strategy to the next level. In this way, KÖTTER will remain not only a reliable service provider, but also an important driving force for sustainable business in Germany.

¹ Source: McKinsey Diversity Study, 2020

² Source: ISO 14001 Guide, 2015

³ Civey study ‘Focus on climate protection’, 2024

⁴ Source: CSR Compass 2023, Institute for Sustainability Research