How were energy and waste restructured in Germany?

Energy production and waste activities were restructured in WZ 2025, following the European changes in NACE Rev. 2.1, because WZ matches NACE completely to class level. The Spanish statistical institute states the European changes plainly: the production classes within Group 35 were restructured, emphasising whether the energy source is renewable or not, and Division 38 was restructured, with greater emphasis on how waste is reused. Those changes therefore apply at class level in the German structure as well. The restructures operate inside their groups and divisions. They do not move activities to other sections.

A reader who checks the German structure on the classification server will find the new grouping inside Group 35 and Division 38, with German subclasses inside the classes where Destatis added finer detail.

What changed in energy production?

Group 35 covers electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply. The production classes inside the group were restructured around the source distinction. Production from renewable sources and production from non renewable sources are now divided at class level, so that statistics can separate the mix of sources from the classification alone. Transmission, distribution and trade headings were not the focus of the change as described by the Spanish institute. The group boundary is therefore preserved, while the class boundaries inside production moved. A series for the whole of Group 35 can still be read across the change with care. A series for a single production class cannot be read across the change without the correspondence table, because the class boundary moved to follow the source distinction. The note for each new production class states how the source distinction is applied at the boundary.

Area	Level of change	Grouping basis after the change
Electricity production, Group 35	Class level inside the group	Renewable or non renewable source
Waste, Division 38	Group and class level inside the division	How waste is reused

The table above shows the level and basis of each restructure as stated by the Spanish statistical institute for the European change. It names no class, because class rows must be read in the correspondence tables and the WZ structure.

What changed in waste?

Division 38 covers waste collection, treatment and disposal, including materials recovery. The restructure places greater emphasis on how waste is reused. Activities that recover materials, prepare them for reuse, or dispose of what remains are grouped on the basis of that reuse character. A reader who follows only old class titles will miss the new boundary, because titles that once grouped disposal and recovery together may now sit apart. The correspondence table shows the movement for each old class. The notes for the new classes state what each heading includes and excludes, including where recovery ends and disposal begins. The notes, not the old titles, govern the reading. The German subclasses inside the new classes add national detail where Destatis published it, and the subclass must be read inside its class, never alone.

How are the restructures checked in Germany?

The restructures are checked in the WZ structure on the classification server, in the Eurostat correspondence tables for the class level, and in the explanatory notes for the new classes. The correspondence table shows the movement from each old class. The note shows the scope of each new class. The keyword index can help find headings, but it is a finding aid, not a decision, and a keyword that points to more than one heading must be tested in each heading’s note. A production activity that uses more than one source, or a waste activity that both recovers and disposes, sits at a boundary that the notes must address. A reader should read the notes for every candidate class, including cross references to neighbouring classes, before concluding anything in general terms. The entry for a specific unit is confirmed with the register that holds it.

What do the restructures not decide?

The restructures do not decide the class for any specific producer or operator, and they do not decide licensing, tax, funding or any other matter for a specific unit. Energy and waste are areas where other authorities apply their own rules, and a statistical heading does not replace those rules. The classification groups activities for statistics. The register that holds an entry confirms it, and Destatis WZ structure confirms what a heading means. This site holds no register and decides no entry. A code in Group 35 or Division 38 does not grant a permit, set a charge, or decide eligibility.

Energy production inside Group 35 is now divided by source, waste inside Division 38 is now regrouped around reuse, and the correspondence rows plus the notes for the new classes show the new boundaries in the German structure. ”