ANWR Group faced a significant challenge: preparing for upcoming CSRD compliance while managing complex sustainability data across its vast organization. With stringent reporting requirements on the horizon, they needed a centralized platform to streamline data collection, reporting, and strategy execution — one that could grow with their evolving needs.
Enter Pulsora: By providing ANWR with a comprehensive CSRD metric repository and launching their carbon accounting process, Pulsora became the foundation of their sustainability data management. Its highly configurable platform, seamless integrations, and trustworthy data allowed ANWR to navigate the intricacies of compliance while maintaining operational efficiency.
Pulsora has become a strategic partner to ANWR Group by helping them align their sustainability initiatives with regulatory goals and empowering them to meet today’s compliance requirements while driving long-term business growth.
About ANWR Group
ANWR GROUP eG is a cooperative association of independent retailers specializing in shoes, sporting goods, and leather goods, with operations spanning 18 European countries.
In 2022, the organization reported a revenue of €21 billion.
ANWR’s diverse portfolio includes retail, banking, and property management, though its initial sustainability focus has been on the retail sector, with plans to expand to banking.
• Headquarters: Mainhausen, Germany
• Industry: Retail and Financial Services
• Employees: 1,000+ global employees
The challenge: Streamlining sustainability reporting across a large, multi-entity organization
Driven by the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), ANWR faces a 2026 reporting deadline that requires them to disclose 2025 data.
With no prior sustainability reporting processes in place, the organization needed to establish a solution for data collection, carbon accounting, and stakeholder engagement in advance of this critical (and mandatory) deadline.
The complexity of their organizational structure presented its own of challenges:
With operations across nine European countries, ANWR oversees 50 subsidiaries that roll up into distinct holding companies, such as those for shoes or sportswear. The group also manages a banking arm consisting of two financial institutions and a property business that includes multiple holding companies.
Furthermore, ANWR's goal is to automate the HR data currently contributed by over 40 organizations.
This intricate web of entities underscored the need for a scalable and adaptable sustainability reporting platform.
The organization’s goals also include developing a comprehensive list of CSRD ESRS data points, initiating carbon accounting processes, and integrating data from HR and operational systems across their network.
In order to meet these important sustainability goals and ensure every facet of the business is being represented within them, ANWR was seeking a flexible, scalable platform capable—one that is capable of handling these diverse needs while ensuring compliance with tight regulations.
“[Pulsora] is able to handle our many subsidiaries. This was not easy to find in a solution. We can connect around 25 companies for CSRD and around 40 companies for carbon management. We're also going to connect our 3 HR systems and, eventually, our Finance systems to Pulsora. This was a huge selling point," says Lisa Werner, Manager of Sustainability Development.
The solution: Pulsora, ANWR Group’s partner in performance
ANWR selected Pulsora as their sustainability partner, impressed by the platform’s configurability, integration capabilities, and commitment to customer support.
Here’s how Pulsora addressed ANWR’s unique requirements:
1. Building the CSRD ESRS metric repository
Pulsora worked closely with ANWR to build and manage a tailored CSRD ESRS catalog, ensuring the organization meets regulatory requirements starting with their first required reporting deadline in 2026.
The platform’s configurability allows ANWR to develop and refine metrics that align with their different aspects of their operation, like HR policy metrics or carbon accounting data.
2. Kickstarting carbon accounting
ANWR’s carbon accounting efforts began with Pulsora’s support. Once Scope 1 and 2 inventories were established, the organization sought expert guidance on Scope 3, given the complexity of their supply chain. Pulsora’s integration capabilities allow ANWR to incorporate data from their consultants and create seamless workflows between all subsidiaries.
3. Integration and scalability
Pulsora’s ability to integrate with existing HR and operational systems was critical for ANWR.
Pulsora supports data uploads from multiple subsidiaries and automated processes to improve efficiency and accuracy. This allows ANWR to extend their sustainability reporting efforts to other sectors, such as banking, in the future.
4. Trust in data
Pulsora’s robust validation rules, audit trails, and data lineage capabilities give ANWR full confidence in their sustainability data, providing transparency from source to report.
By maintaining a clear chain of custody for every data point, Pulsora not only safeguards against errors and inconsistencies but also strengthens ANWR Group’s ability to make informed, data-driven decisions that align with both relevant CSRD compliance mandates and their long-term ESG strategy.
Why ANWR chose Pulsora
ANWR chose Pulsora over other enterprise-level sustainability reporting solutions on the market for a number of reasons, including:
Localized and tailored support
Pulsora’s ability to deliver materials in German, ANWR’s primary business language, facilitated seamless collaboration between the teams and, ultimately, solidified ongoing trust.
Comprehensive and pragmatic solutions
Pulsora centralizes ESG data, streamlines reporting, and powers strategic decision-making.
It offers robust carbon accounting capabilities, allowing businesses to measure, manage, and mitigate emissions across all scopes with tailored emissions factors and audit-ready reporting.
With deep integration across data sources, automated data collection, and AI-powered analytics, Pulsora ensures organizations can confidently track sustainability performance, stay compliant with evolving regulations, and drive meaningful impact—without the inefficiencies of manual processes.
Collaborative implementation
Pulsora’s hands-on support throughout the implementation process—from onboarding to ongoing assistance—enabled ANWR to navigate their sustainability journey with confidence.
Looking ahead: Expanding to new efforts
With Pulsora’s platform in place, ANWR is on track to meet CSRD compliance goals and embed sustainability into their broader business strategy.
The organization plans to expand their sustainability reporting to include banking and property management, as well as expand their data collection around carbon management and company emissions.
By leveraging Pulsora’s scalability to unify data across all sectors, ANWR is positioning itself as a leader in sustainability reporting and a model for cooperative businesses worldwide, prioritizing compliance and proactive sustainability practices.
With a strong data foundation in place, ANWR can now enhance its broader sustainability initiatives, including targeted decarbonization efforts that drive measurable emissions reductions. This commitment not only strengthens environmental responsibility but also creates long-term operational efficiencies and resilience across their entire business.
