a) Describe the board's oversight of climate–related risks and opportunities.

b) Describe management's role in assessing and managing climate–related risks and opportunities.

The Executive Board has ultimate joint responsibility as well as ownership of ESG topics, including Deutsche Börse Group’s climate strategy and is responsible for setting the ambition level. 

The Group Sustainability Board advises and supports the Executive Board regarding the management of sustainability matters. It oversees the implementation of sustainability projects, including the climate strategy. 

Group ESG Strategy is a unit responsible for the ESG activities within Deutsche Börse Group. It executes our climate strategy, conducts market trend analysis, and works closely with the business areas in implementing their product strategies. Group ESG Strategy is part of the CEO division.

The Group Risk Committee is an internal Group Committee, chaired by the CFO. It reviews the risk position of Deutsche Börse Group regularly and involves the Executive Board in all important matters. 

The Chief Risk Officer leads the development of proposals for the Risk Management framework, risk appetite, approaches and methods for risk monitoring and control, capital allocation and the necessary processes. 

Strategy

a) Describe the climate–related risks and opportunities the organization has identified over the short, medium, and long term.

We are aware that climate–related risks and opportunities have an impact on our business. Therefore, we have taken the steps recommended by the TCFD to identify and assess the potential materiality of risks and opportunities to increase our positive effects and mitigate negative impacts on our business. Material risks can have a significant impact on our business, strategy, and financial performance if we do not manage them appropriately. Material opportunities are the potential benefits that can result from proactive and effective measures to mitigate the effects of climate change. These include economic benefits from developing new technologies or entering new markets, as well as environmental and social benefits from reducing emissions and improving resource efficiency.

b) Describe the impact of climate–related risks and opportunities on the organization's business, strategy, and financial planning.

c) Describe the resilience of the organization’s strategy, taking into consideration different climate–related scenarios, including a 2°C or lower scenario.

In addition to the group strategy and the business strategies of the segments, Deutsche Börse Group has an ESG strategy, which was published in 2021 following a wide–ranging stakeholder survey. It maps the topic of sustainability both in our groupwide strategy and along our business areas. In 2023, we have revised our climate strategy along today’s market standards towards a long term and ambitious climate strategy, that includes near–term targets until 2030 and a net–zero target until 2045 that are validated by the Science Based Target initiative in the course of 2023. For further details, please refer to our TCFD progress report.

Risk Management

a) Describe the organization’s processes for identifying and assessing climate–related risks.

The approach for the management of climate–related risks along the entire Risk Management cycle is governed by the Group Risk Management Framework. This approach facilitates that all climate–related risks are properly recorded, assessed, and managed. Climate–related risks are considered as part of environmental risks which are further categorised into physical and transition risks. The Risk Management cycle consists of the five steps: identification, notification, assessment, control (mitigation) and reporting (monitoring). For further details, please refer to our TCFD progress report. 

During the two initial phases “identification” and “notification” the Deutsche Börse Group’s Risk Inventory is in use. The Risk Inventory is a key input into the risk processes and risk frameworks that aid the sound management of risk across the entities.

b) Describe the organization’s processes for managing climate–related risks.

Deutsche Börse Group regulated entities are required to complete a risk materiality assessment. All risks, including all risks flagged as environmental / climate–relevant, are assessed as part of these materiality assessments. The materiality assessments are on an entity–specific level and are conducted annually. Both the inward and outward perspective of environmental / climate–related risks is considered. For the inward perspective, the primary (direct) impacts, for example the impact on Deutsche Börse Group’s offices, and secondary (indirect) impacts, such as the behavioural changes of our customers, are considered.

c) Describe how processes for identifying, assessing, and managing climate–related risks are integrated into the organization’s overall risk management.

In addition, climate–related and environmental risks are integrated within operational risk. For the medium–term time horizon, emerging risks, including climate–related risks, are identified, and assessed in terms of the probability and financial impact via quarterly risk maps. Besides the integration within the Risk Management cycle, operational risk and business risk, Deutsche Börse Group has also established a robust Business Continuity Management System that considers ESG factors, which includes emergency and contingency plans.

Metrics & Targets

a) Disclose the metrics used by the organization to assess climate–related risks and opportunities in line with its strategy and risk management process.

b) Disclose Scope 1, Scope 2 and, if appropriate, Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the related risks.

For our comprehensive GHG inventory please see our GRI index 2022.

c) Describe the targets used by the organization to manage climate–related risks and opportunities and performance against targets.

Given our ambition to develop a climate strategy that is approved by the Science Based Target initiative, we developed near–term targets until 2030 and our net–zero target by 2045 at the latest. In addition, we have been identifying measures to achieve our ambitious near–term targets within the specified time frame which will be monitored and reported regularly.