German government asks companies to help it ‘simplify’ sustainability regulation

Henkel, Ewe, Salzgitter and Deutz have been appointed to advisory group tasked with simplification and scaling up transition finance

Representatives from Henkel, Salzgitter and Ewe are among those to have been put in charge of helping Germany simplify its sustainable finance regulation. 

The finance and environment ministries revived their Advisory Board for Sustainable Finance on Wednesday, after a hiatus in 2025. 

They’ve chosen 20 experts to provide the government with “practical recommendations for simplifying sustainable finance regulation and mobilising private capital for the transformation”.

Members include Uwe Bergmann, global director of ESG business integration at chemicals firm Henkel; Tanja Groeger, head of group finance and risk management at utility Ewe; and Birgit Potrafki, chief financial officer of steel giant Salzgitter. 

Oliver Neu, the chief financial officer of engine maker Deutz has also been appointed to the group. 

Other members come from Germany’s dominant banking sector, as well as investment, academia, NGOs and unions. 

Sustainability reporting specialists Kerstin Lopatta and Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien were both on the previous board, but were not reappointed, suggesting a change in focus for the group. 

Indeed, this time around, the Ministry of Finance said “the goal is to effectively simplify sustainable finance regulation and sustainably strengthen the financing of the transformation”.

It did not provide further details.

For a full list of members, see here.