About Vonovia
Vonovia is one of Europe’s leading residential real estate companies, with a portfolio of approximately 530,000 homes across Germany, Austria, and Sweden. As a major player in the built environment, sustainability sits at the core of how Vonovia accounts for its impact to investors, regulators, and society. CDP is a key part of that accountability; investors rely on the data it produces, making it an exercise Vonovia takes seriously year after year.
The Challenge
Vonovia had maintained a B score on CDP for two consecutive years. A solid result, but one the team felt didn’t fully reflect the breadth of what the company was doing on sustainability. The ambition was clear: push for a higher score.
At the same time, the internal process had become increasingly resource-intensive. CDP’s methodology had grown more complex year on year, and with multiple departments involved, the process was consuming more time and energy than it should. Vonovia wanted to find a smarter way of working, one that reduced the burden on teams while improving the quality of the submission.
To achieve both, Vonovia brought in The Overview Effect.
The Collaboration
The collaboration focused on two priorities: improving the quality and structure of CDP responses and redesigning the process to make it more efficient for everyone involved.
Two focused sprints
Vonovia came to the collaboration with a concrete idea: rather than spreading the CDP process across several months, the work would be structured around two concentrated one-week sprints. All relevant departments would focus their energy within those windows, then step away. The Overview Effect embraced the approach and helped design and run the structure, ensuring the right preparation was in place and that departments had everything they needed to contribute effectively.
The results were immediate. Departments appreciated the focused, time-bound commitment, and leadership noticed the efficiency gains.
Deep methodological support
Alongside the process redesign, The Overview Effect brought deep expertise in how CDP scoring works in practice. This enabled a genuinely strategic approach to the submission, identifying where clearer framing and stronger substantiation could make a real difference to the outcome. The team actively brought ideas, challenged assumptions, and looked for angles that added value to the responses.
“Trust and reliability are very important to me. We have a close connection, and we understand each other well — we know where we’re heading, in both directions. That helps a lot.”
— Jonathan Przybylski, Sustainability Reporting & Ratings, Vonovia
The Results
A more efficient process
By structuring the work around two focused one-week sprints, Vonovia reduced what had previously been a months-long process to a clear, time-bound commitment. Departments knew exactly when they were needed and for how long. The change was well received at all levels and has already been earmarked for replication in the next cycle.
Stronger CDP performance
Scores improved across 8 of 16 categories, with 13 now rated A or A-. Despite these gains, CDP’s overall scoring methodology returned a B, a result that neither Vonovia nor The Overview Effect can fully explain, given the category-level performance. Rather than treat this as a setback, both teams are using it as a starting point. A dedicated gap analysis and methodology deep-dive are planned for the next cycle to identify exactly where the remaining scoring gap lies. The A target is firmly in sight.
A platform for continuous improvement
The collaboration gave Vonovia a clearer view of how CDP methodology works in practice, including how scoring trade-offs between categories can be used strategically. To build on this, a dedicated methodology workshop is planned for the next cycle, giving the internal team deeper insight into CDP’s scoring structure.
“They take a lot of the effort onto their shoulders, in preparation, in helping us structure our answers, in formulating things differently. And what I especially value is that they think for themselves. They don’t just tick the boxes. They bring in their own ideas, their own perspectives, and they look at things from a different angle. That was genuinely helpful.”
— Jonathan Przybylski, Sustainability Reporting & Ratings, Vonovia
Looking Ahead
Vonovia and The Overview Effect continue their collaboration into the next CDP cycle. The priority is understanding exactly where the remaining scoring gap lies and building on the process improvements that have already proven their worth. The overall A score target is well within reach.
