Passion that pushes us ahead.
ista Progress Report 2025/26
Achieving more together
We see partnerships as more than traditional collaborations: they are a shared commitment to taking responsibility and actively shaping society. In 2025, we continued to bring this commitment to life – with strong partners who share our values, and through the dedication of our employees, who put their heart and soul into fundraising and volunteering initiatives around the world.
A particular focus remains on our partnership with Borussia Mönchengladbach, which brings people together through a shared passion that extends far beyond sport. At the same time, ista colleagues supported social projects in many countries – from local initiatives to international volunteering efforts. Together, these activities create a positive impact and demonstrate just how much of a difference collective commitment can make.
Sustainability partnership with Borussia Mönchengladbach
Through our long-term partnership with Borussia Mönchengladbach, we are setting new standards in modern stadium infrastructure: we are equipping the entire Borussia-Park with smart metering technology and energy monitoring systems. The aim is to make the entire stadium complex of the Bundesliga club ready for greater energy efficiency and transparency. As a visible symbol of the partnership, Borussia-Park will be known as ista-Borussia-Park from the 2026/27 season onwards.
But a stadium is much more than just a large football pitch. Borussia-Park is home to matches, hotels, restaurants, administrative offices, training facilities and events. It is a diverse building complex, in which every single building is equipped with bespoke metering technology. In this way, ista ensures complete transparency regarding consumption and helps Borussia identify opportunities to save energy.
The partnership with Borussia is set to run for at least six years.
“If you can equip an entire stadium complex, you can equip any property. Together with the Foals, we're helping to future-proof Borussia-Park. It's in our DNA."
Hagen Lessing
CEO ista SE
The energy transition starts with buildings
The energy transition is not decided solely in the boiler room or on the roof. The transport sector must also play its part if Europe is to achieve its climate targets. This requires charging infrastructure where people live, work and spend their time – accessible, reliable and tailored to each property.
In Germany, the rollout of charging infrastructure continues to gather pace. A key driver is the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which is set to be transposed into national law in 2026. The directive introduces increasingly stringent requirements for charging infrastructure in residential and non-residential buildings. At the same time, the government is providing further momentum for sustainable mobility with a new subsidy for electric cars, which comes into effect in January 2026.
Chargemaker, part of ista SE since 2024, has responded by strategically expanding its portfolio. In addition to solutions for commercial properties and business premises, the company now offers tailored charging solutions for hotels and the housing sector. In doing so, Chargemaker complements ista’s offering for these target groups and helps make charging infrastructure an integral part of buildings.
Chargemaker has also taken an important step onto the international stage. The subsidiary has successfully delivered its first projects across Europe, marking its entry into markets beyond Germany. As a result, we are further strengthening our position as a partner for intelligent, scalable and future-proof charging infrastructure – in Germany and across Europe.
Society
Social engagement is an integral part of what we do. We take responsibility where we can make a meaningful difference as a company and support initiatives that provide tangible help to local communities. For us, this is not just about financial contributions, but above all about the time, dedication and personal commitment of our employees. Together, these efforts create a positive impact that extends beyond the workplace and helps strengthen communities.
ista Volunteering Day: Pitching in together
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At the end of April, 65 colleagues from ista Head Office swapped their desks for a day of volunteering. This year, the special focus was on the Katernberg-Beisen Climate Quarter in Essen, a flagship city project for climate protection and sustainable living. Together, they took part in a range of activities designed to make the neighbourhood an even better place to live and more climate-friendly.
For the first time, ista colleagues in Berlin also joined the Volunteering Day. As part of the Energy Detectives project, they visited Vineta primary school in the north of the capital and showed children in a fun and engaging way how energy efficiency can make a difference in everyday life. Together, colleagues contributed 221 hours of volunteering during the ista Volunteering Day 2026.
Our international activities: job shadowing, gardening, litter collecting
Not only in Germany but across our international markets, many ista colleagues are involved in various initiatives to help people or do their bit for the environment.
ista France
ista France
For the third year running, ista France participated in the European Week for the Employment of People with Disabilities, taking part in the DuoDays initiative. This initiative pairs a person with a disability with an ista employee. In 2025, seven such pairs were formed, enabling participants to spend a working day shadowing ista employees. Both Olivet and Île-de-France sites demonstrated how important diversity and equal opportunities are in the workplace as well.
ista UK
In September 2025, seven employees from ista UK got together to help out in the Nightingale Community Garden. The project is a garden that is mainly used by patients at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge who want to take their minds off their illnesses and worries for a while. The ista employees worked on various parts of the garden to tidy it up and make it more attractive for visitors again.
ista Denmark
There was also a volunteering project in Denmark in 2025: eleven ista employees spent a total of 123 hours at a nursery school, renovating and painting ten rooms where the children spend their days. The rooms were painted in various colours, which had been selected in advance by the nursery staff.
ista Romania
In a sense, our colleagues in Romania also took part in a renovation project – not inside a building, but for the benefit of the environment. On National Cleanup Day, 15 colleagues gathered to collect litter from the surrounding area and dispose of it properly. National Cleanup Day was held for the 13th time, and all across Romania groups meet up on this day to take a stand against environmental pollution.
iCS Poland
Staff at ista Customer Service in Poland were also out and about in September 2025, working together to clear litter from a section of woodland in Rudziniec. Together with their families, they collected 15 sacks of litter. They then gathered around a campfire to celebrate the success of the operation. Employees at ista Technologies, also based in Poland, were just as busy: in October, they cleaned up a section of woodland in Katowice and collected a total of 40 sacks of litter.
Employee volunteering
ista encourages and supports employee volunteering – for example, through initiatives such as the Corporate Volunteering Day. In this way, we create concrete opportunities for employees to get involved in environmental, social and local projects, either during or outside working hours. In the 2025 reporting year, our employees clocked up a total of 3,744 hours of volunteering.
Becoming energy detectives through play
Saving energy is a key priority for ista, which is why we want to raise awareness of responsible energy use among the youngest generations. For over eight years now, as part of the “ista in schools” initiative, we have been sharing important information about energy consumption in buildings and homes with schools and nursery schools.
The initiative consists of two programmes: “Energy Detectives” for nursery and primary school children and “Climate Hour” for secondary school pupils. Both are delivered by ista employees, who volunteer their time during working hours to share their knowledge of responsible energy use with schools and nurseries.
In 2025, employees taught some 1,273 primary school children how to be energy detectives. Employees volunteered around 27 hours of their time on the “Climate Hour” programme, sharing their knowledge with about 131 pupils.
Our initiative has proven so successful that “Climate Hour” is now offered not only in Germany, but also in Spain and Poland.
Helping together: ista donates to good causes across Europe
In various European countries, our employees showed the many forms that social engagement can take and, during the reporting year, dedicated their time and energy to supporting people facing difficult circumstances. This has led to initiatives that not only provide practical help but also send a strong message of solidarity and community spirit.
Blood donation drives took place at several ista sites across Europe. One example is Belgium, which organises “Blood Donation Days” every year. The aim is not only to encourage employees to donate blood, but also to raise awareness of the importance of donating. ista Belgium organises the Blood Donation Days in collaboration with the Red Cross directly at ista’s offices to give all employees the opportunity to join in. Similar projects have also taken place at Head Office in Essen, and at ista Customer Service in Poland and Romania.
Every year around Christmas, ista UK staff organise an initiative called the “Big Red Box”. The initiative supports people in need through food donations. The Cambridge City Foodbank provides a list of food and other items needed, and ista employees are given the chance to purchase and donate the requested items. A large red box is provided to collect donations between mid-November and mid-December. In 2025, this campaign led to eight boxes of food donations being collected.
ista France also organised a similar campaign in partnership with the French Red Cross. In the “Solidarity Boxes” ista employees collected food, hygiene products and other daily necessities. The boxes were then distributed to people in need. In 2025, the four sites in Massy, Dijon, Rouen and Olivet collected items together. This resulted in a total of 50 such Solidarity Boxes.
Around Christmas time each year, ista Czech Republic also works with the Czech Diaconia to collect donations in kind for children and young people in need. The “Krabice od bot” (English: shoe boxes) are filled with gifts so children from financially disadvantaged families can experience the joy of receiving a present at Christmas. In 2025, 119 such shoe boxes were collected.
Children were also the focus of a fundraising initiative organised by ista Denmark. The company supported the “Cancer is not for Children” campaign, raising DKK 9,600 (approximately €1,285). The campaign is run by the Danish Cancer Society, Kræftens Bekæmpelse, and aims to raise awareness and support children and young people who are affected by cancer themselves or through a parent’s illness. The money goes mainly to cancer research to discover more about the disease.