The Institute for Ecology and Business Management at the European Business School has developed an Internet platform for sustainable investment products which take special account of social, ecological and ethical criteria. The database www.nachhaltiges-investment.org gives an overview of some 80 funds registered in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. These funds represent an investment volume of some 2.5 billion euros and use a wide variety of concepts for the social, ecological and ethical assessment of companies.

The Internet platform, which receives support from the German Ministry of Research and Technology now allows prospective investors to conduct selective research according to their personal values. It also covers 1,500 companies, detailing their inclusion in sustainability funds and indexes. The search options allow database users to check whether a company is listed in an index or as one of the top ten investments within a fund. As one of the pilot companies, Henkel was actively involved in developing the concept for the Internet platform and continues to support this public Internet database as a sponsoring member.