The Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee of the Federal Government in the 20th legislative term

After working on sustainable investment in Germany for 30 years, and with hardly any government involvement for 28 of those years, this final report is a big moment for me. For many years, sustainable investments were niche products. They grew steadily, but seemed to have only a minimal to moderate influence on companies. Since public-sector stakeholders have become involved in this area, things have changed dramatically. Companies are noticing that the government is supporting sustainable investments. The report shows that this support can take many forms. Sustainability reporting by companies and financial market stakeholders and a new conception of risk on the part of banking supervisors are as much part of this as the orientation of public banks and the internalisation of external costs, e.g. by means of a new supply chain law reinforced by liability provisions.