SBM-2 – Interests and Views of Stakeholders

Our company is in close contact with numerous, and in terms of their interests, very different stakeholder groups. Particularly important stakeholder groups, other than our tenants/customers (and the those representing them), include our own employees, shareholders and analysts, policymakers and administrative bodies, suppliers and service providers – particularly from the construction industry – as well as society and the natural environment.

We generally use a range of formats for the purposes of engaging in dialogue with our stakeholders. The format used to involve relevant stakeholders is chosen for each individual stakeholder group, taking past consultations and existing processes into account. Key elements include the quarterly customer and annual employee surveys, discussions with tenant representatives, local administrative bodies and policymakers as well as investors. Association memberships support the process of discourse. External stakeholder perspectives are incorporated into the materiality assessment through regular dialogue, also via the housing industry association. Please refer to S1-2 for information on how we involve our employees and their representatives.

Our main interface for dialogue with our stakeholders is our Corporate Communications department. It is directly available for stakeholders every day and ensures a uniform internal and external presentation. The Public Affairs department within Corporate Communications maintains connections with politicians and stakeholders. This department is responsible for analyzing who our material stakeholders are, and updating the analysis annually. As part of this process, it takes into account the interests of the key stakeholders, their positioning in the strategy and the business model. In addition, our departments or the local employees in the neighborhoods in particular react to specific and target Group-related communication occasions and engage in dialogue with our stakeholders. This allows us to meet the needs and fulfill the demands of our stakeholders. For instance, the Procurement department handles communication with suppliers and service providers, while the Investor Relations department is responsible for dialogue with shareholders and analysts.

When designing our development and neighborhood development projects, engagement is also fostered by the provision of information at an early stage, as well as by opportunities to actively participate in the development process. Within this context, we first of all adhere to the statutory requirements for civic participation in development planning and, second, use various voluntary participatory processes to take into account the interests of the parties involved and ensure the necessary transparency. We take action at various stages in the neighborhood development process – from the planning to the stabilization phase – and proactively incorporate the views of local residents. The formats used range from neighborhood walks, tenant meetings and workshops, tenant surveys to neighborhood display windows.

Our quarterly customer surveys allow us to ask our tenants about their concerns and tailor our measures to the needs of specific neighborhoods or regions. We also provide information on topics relevant to our customers on our website, e.g., on the communication channels that tenants can use. 

The interests and viewpoints of our major stakeholders were analyzed and evaluated at a general level as part of the materiality assessment, for example the interests of the German Tenants’ Association. Interests and viewpoints at local level – we operate in more than 450 cities and municipalities in Germany alone – may differ from these. The local participation processes can be used to help us address these different interests and – in line with our strategy and business model – translate them into measures.

This process is not designed to result in any changes to our strategy and/or business model, as the participation processes are suitable for addressing and taking into account the interests of local stakeholders in the context of the existing strategy/business model.

The Strategy, Finance and Sustainability Committee of the Supervisory Board advises the Management Board on the sustainability strategy. This committee, which met seven times in 2024, provides the entire Supervisory Board and the Management Board with information on the interests and views of the stakeholders concerned, which are identified in particular as part of the annual customer and employee surveys and other individual formats depending on the stakeholder group in question.

Entity-Specific Disclosures on SBM-2

Neighborhood Development and Contribution to Infrastructure

The management of our investment programs is centrally coordinated through the Portfolio Management department. The operational implementation is the responsibility of the regional business areas. With regard to neighborhood developments, the regional business areas determine which local requirements must be met (such as a focus on families, older individuals, or priorities such as energy supply or transportation). The regional managers are responsible for the respective projects and implement them along with their area managers. This means that they are also responsible for participation processes with regard to stakeholders. The CRO is the Management Board member responsible for the property management business as well as for customer service and portfolio management. He is provided with regular, at least monthly, information on all relevant topics relating to the operating business by the managing directors of the regional business areas.

Living at Fair prices

Rent structures and agreements with municipalities are managed in a decentralized manner via the business areas. The individual measures are planned and coordinated in the Portfolio Management department.

Regular dialogue with tenant and consumer protection organizations are also particularly important to us so that we can address and respond to tenant interests in a consolidated and targeted manner. This process is focused not only on dialogue with the central top-level associations, the German Tenants’ Association, the Austrian Tenants’ Association and the Swedish Tenants’ Union, but is also implemented at regional or local level with tenants’ associations in particular.

Topical Disclosures on SBM-2

ESRS S1 – Own Workforce

Vonovia is committed to the core labor standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in all areas, particularly with regard to freedom and rights of association, and to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We aim to ensure that applicable laws (e.g. individual and collective labor laws), are complied with at all our sites. This means, among other things, that employee co-determination is made possible. We are committed to fostering a trusting and constructive exchange between management and employees in all of Vonovia’s business units through channels like works councils. Our employees are also free to form trade unions and exercise their statutory right to freedom of association. Our qualitative survey formats (including our Group-wide employee satisfaction survey) and our individual and team-based feedback formats give our employees the opportunity to feed individual suggestions on relevant working areas and conditions back to their employer. Core aspects of feedback are taken into account systematically in the enhancement of Vonovia’s HR strategy.

ESRS S4 – Consumers and End-Users

Our tenants make up one of our major stakeholder groups. Their concerns, interests and viewpoints as well as respect for their (human) rights are a central component of our strategic focus. These rights are already covered and protected to a considerable degree by the legal framework in the markets in which we operate (Germany, Austria and Sweden). Compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements (for example, the German General Act on Equal Treatment, or AGG) is a matter of course for us as a company. We oblige all employees to adhere stringently to our Code of Conduct, and any breaches have consequences. In addition, all customers – as well as our employees, service providers and suppliers – have access to our whistleblower system to report misconduct and assert their rights.

Their interests and views are incorporated into our strategy and the direction of our business model through regular customer surveys and dialogue with tenant representative bodies, tenants’ associations and consumer protection centers. We use this feedback to develop corresponding services and measures for our (potential) customers.