Our results show that between 2016 and 2021 all German multinational corporations (MNCs) increased their SDG reporting activity. We further identified that the MNCs adopted four different practices to report their SDG engagement. The largest MNCs were more transparent and systematic in their SDG reporting than smaller MNCs, whose reporting was more heterogeneous. Our findings imply that regulations on environmental and social regulation increase the transparency of sustainability reporting. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12687