DEKRA presents silver award to the German Hockey Federation
Certificate for Sustainable Association Management
DEKRA has presented the German Hockey Federation (DHB) with a ‘Silver’ sustainAssociation sustainability standard certificate. The sustainAssociation standard developed by DEKRA assesses the integration of sustainability measures in sports associations on the basis of environmental, social, and governance-related criteria.
From summer 2024 to spring 2025, the DHB underwent a multi-stage audit process involving remote and on-site audits, during which the federation’s commitment to sustainability was comprehensively assessed under the technical direction of DEKRA sustainability expert Jonathan Reich. By bestowing the ‘Silver’ award level on the federation, DEKRA certifies that the DHB has established fundamental sustainability requirements across all areas of the federation. Moreover, the federation demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of more far-reaching sustainability issues and puts these into practice through dedicated sustainability management. The federation takes a holistic approach to sustainability, building on the pillars of environment (E), social issues (S), and governance (G).
“The DHB has demonstrated in an impressive manner that sustainability in sport is not only achievable, but can also be strategically implemented. The silver award acknowledges the commitment of the many people involved and sets a powerful example for the German sporting community,” said Simon Fink, Senior Sustainability Expert at DEKRA Assurance Services GmbH, at the presentation ceremony.
Maren Boyé, Senior Manager for Education/Development and Sustainability Officer at the DHB, and Federation President Henning Fastrich accepted the award during the ‘Hockey Bundestag’ event and emphasized that sustainability at the DHB is seen as a long-term development process that aims to permanently embed environmental and social responsibility matters in the work of the federation. “Sustainability is a long-term cultural change, not a short-term project,” said Maren Boyé. “We want field hockey to be a role model – a sport that focuses on the environment, social responsibility, and economic stability in equal measure.”
With its specialist sustainability team, the expert organization DEKRA has been offering concepts, audits, and verifications relating to sustainability in professional sport for many years now. For example, DEKRA is a partner in the ‘sustainclub’ and ‘sustainAssociation’ label award program and an external auditor for compliance with the sustainability criteria of the German Soccer League (DFL). Last year, DEKRA prepared an ex-post climate study on UEFA EURO 2024 on behalf of Bielefeld University and the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and carried out an ESG performance analysis for UEFA.