Sustainable Development Goals

This SDG 2 aims to end hunger around the world, improve diets and foster sustainable agriculture.

To fight hunger in supply chains, the REWE Group works on the levels of purchasing, cultivation and production to stabilise the basis of existence for small farmers and give them planning certainty – through such instruments as pledges to purchase the farmers’ crops. In addition, programmes that offer living wages and income are being tested in pilot projects through 2025. They will be scaled if successful. The REWE Group also intends to strengthen the position of women, in particular, throughout global value chains – in such projects as the female-grown coffee called “Café Mujer”. In this project, the organic Arabica beans used in REWE Bio Caffè Crema Pads are grown exclusively by women of the Fairtrade-certified cooperative “Valle de Ubiriki” in Peru. The REWE Group has pledged to purchase the entire annual crop at the Fairtrade minimum price. The female farmers also gain additional qualifications by attending workshops.

To foster sustainable agriculture, the REWE Group continuously expands its range of organic products. It also develops requirements for suppliers and farms that exceed the legal standard set by the EU organic regulations in many cases. The company also works with a number of standards and seals, including Naturland and Demeter. In addition, the REWE Group has set a goal on the level of cultivation and production of reducing the use of pesticides in such areas as conventional fruit and vegetable farming. As part of this effort, the group of companies has drawn up a black list that contains chemicals that may not be used in production. The REWE Group also plays an active role in projects designed to preserve biodiversity (see SDG 15).

On the value level of stores, sales and consumption, the REWE Group promotes more conscious diets. The company sensitises consumers about this issue by conducting campaigns, amongst other things. Children and adolescents are introduced to healthy lifestyles that include plenty of exercise and balanced diets in workshops conducted in day-care centres or sports clubs. Healthy foods are provided to school classes. The company also offers transparent information about the nutritional values of products – the REWE Group has been using the Nutri-Score label for this purpose since 2020. In addition, the company has modified its range of products and the recipes for store brands by reducing the amount of sugar, salt, fat or saturated fatty acids used in them.

The fifth goal of the United Nations is to end all forms of discrimination and exploitation of women and girls around the world and to ensure that they have equal rights and access to land, ownership and financial services.

In its Declaration of principles on human rights, the REWE Group has committed itself to strengthening human rights, preventing human-rights abuses and creating a binding framework for action with its Guideline on Fairness. As a way of expanding on its requirements for protection of women and girls, the company released its Guideline on Women in the Supply Chain in 2021. The guideline contains goals and measures designed to strengthen the rights of women throughout global value chains and foster women in terms of their commercial independence and their ability to participate.

As an international company, the REWE Group can help to achieve the goals of SDG 5 especially on the value-creation level of purchasing, cultivation and production. The REWE Group is intent on using raw materials covered by such standards as Fairtrade, the Rainforest Alliance and Cotton made in Africa that require equal treatment and protection of women. The same issues are addressed in social audits like the amfori BSCI that all production operations in the first supply chain level of defined risk countries must present. The company also fosters the economic independence of and participation by women by introducing measures and conducting projects. In one reflection of this effort, managers of strategic production locations are trained about such issues as wages and work schedules or ethical personal hiring practises. In addition, female cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast are assisted with efforts to increase incomes and improve the quality of life of their families.

In terms of gender equality, the REWE Group can also help to attain the United Nations’ fifth sustainability goal on the store level and, thus, in its own operations. In its Guidelines on Sustainable Business Practises, the REWE Group tolerates no discrimination in employment and occupations based on such reasons as gender. This principle applies to the hiring of new employees, current employees and business partners. At the beginning of 2016, the REWE Group signed the Diversity Charter, a commitment that the German business community has made to diversity management. The company also strives to create a balanced gender ratio in all managerial positions. During projects, the group of companies strengthens women with managerial responsibilities and guarantees equal pay for equal work largely through the use of collective bargaining agreements.

The objective of SDG 7 is for all people to have access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. Furthermore, the percentage of renewable energies used in the global energy mix should rise significantly and the growth rate of energy efficiency should be doubled.

With the goals of SDG 7 in mind, the REWE Group acted on the value levels of warehousing, logistics, stores and sales at the beginning of 2008 and began using green power in its stores, warehouses and travel agencies in Germany and Austria. By taking this step, it helped to expand the use of renewable energies. The group of companies also became the first food retailer in Germany in 2021 to sign a corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) – a 10-year power supply contract for green power produced by wind farms in the North Sea. The company also saves energy by applying an effective, certified energy management system and optimising its logistics operations. Furthermore, the Combine has been applying its Green Building concept since 2009 to foster a holistic sustainability approach at its locations. The REWE Group is making a contribution towards developing the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and is installing charging stations in the car parks of new stores that were built according to the Green Building concept. The REWE Group has set the goal of creating one of Germany’s largest and most modern networks of rapid charging stations. By the end of 2024, it intends to have installed up to 2,000 rapid charging stations at a minimum of 400 selected company locations (REWE and PENNY) and additional leased properties. Up to 4,000 additional charging stations are to be installed at existing leased properties and new buildings during the same period. The use of renewable energies and the systematic conservation of energy are two key aspects of the company’s push to achieve its climate goals: climate neutrality by 2040 and, as the initial step, reduction of absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent compared with the base year of 2019, see SDG 13.

The aim of SDG 8 is continuous, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, productive full employment and decent jobs for everyone.

As an international company, the REWE Group can help to achieve the goals of SDG 8 especially on the value-creation level of purchasing, cultivation and production. In its Declaration of principles on human rights and its Guideline on Fairness, the group of companies has committed itself to strengthening human rights and improving work conditions in the supply chains of all store-brand products sold by REWE, PENNY and toom Baumarkt DIY stores – with a focus on child and forced labour, living wages and incomes as well as women in the supply chain. By 2030, all strategic suppliers of the REWE Group should have attended training programmes designed to help them to systematically reduce negative impacts throughout the supply chain. In addition, a complaint mechanism for relevant supply chains should be in place by 2025. Locally, the REWE sales line of the REWE Group fosters sustainable, fair working relationships: The “REWE Local Partnership” supports local suppliers and producers as well as defines a binding relationship.

On the level of warehouses, logistics and stores, the REWE Group offers flexible work schedule models designed to foster work/life balances and a company health management system in its role as employer. It is also strongly committed to training and professional growth. The REWE Group also includes representatives of the workforce who act in their capacity as elected committee members of Works Councils or Supervisory Boards in virtually all decisions that the company takes.

This SDG focuses on the changes that should be made in lifestyles and commercial practises. It addresses both individual consumption and the restructuring of the value patterns on which production is based. A circular economy and sustainable supply chains are just as relevant in this regard as the avoidance of waste, the responsible disposal of rubbish and the reduction of food waste.

A major part of the REWE Group’s effort is devoted to helping achieve SDG 12. This work is based on the company’s principles and guidelines that address environmental issues and social questions throughout its supply chains.

One important contribution being made on the value step of purchasing, cultivation and production to foster increasingly sustainable agricultural operations involves the promotion of organic and regional private label products as well as products in which the REWE Group can achieve social and environmental improvements in supply chains and animal welfare terms. The company applies internationally recognised certification standards in this effort, works together with the industry in initiatives and carries out its own projects. The conscious use of resources on this value level is reflected in the REWE Group focal issue circular economy, an area where packaging plays a significant role. The strategic motto here is : “avoid, reduce, improve”. The company has set a number of goals in this area that it intends to achieve by the end of 2025: 20 per cent less plastic should be used in the sales and services packaging of REWE and PENNY store brands in Germany. In areas where plastic is absolutely necessary, the used plastic should be recyclable. In 2021, the REWE Group devised a recycling-economy strategy – for the purpose of actively reducing the use of resources in the value chain of its products and bolstering environmental and climate protection. In this effort, processes are being refined and product innovations created to reduce the resources used and the waste generated in the production of durable and consumer goods. Such steps include decreasing the amounts of material used. Furthermore, the REWE Group is considering the possibility of replacing disposal products with reusable alternatives. It also continuously examines the recycling potential of its own material flows.

The REWE Group makes a positive contribution to the achievement of SDG 12 on the value level of stores, sales and consumption. The company uses state-of-the-art forecasting systems and automated order processes to ensure that stores receive the fresh goods they need and to reduce food waste – supported by the entrepreneurial experience of employees. The REWE Group sensitises its customers about the issue of food waste by conducting campaigns. It also works with more than 950 local Tafeln food banks and the association Verein Foodsharing e. V.

Since 2010, the company has used the PRO PLANET label to transparently inform customers about products that are made in a social and environmentally sustainable manner or meet tougher animal welfare standards. Twenty-five per cent of the private label brands sold by REWE and PENNY in Germany should bear this label for conscious buying decisions by the end of 2025.

This UN sustainability goal is aimed at limiting the rise of global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius and achieving greenhouse gas neutrality by the middle part of the 21st century.

Since 2006 the REWE Group has been recognising its greenhouse gas emissions for the areas warehousing and logistics as well as stores and sales. The company updated its climate strategy and expanded its application to all countries and companies in which it is active in 2021. The goal is to achieve climate neutrality by 2040 – and to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 compared with the level in 2019. To reach this goal, the company has set a number of priorities regarding climate friendly refrigerants, green power, modern, energy-efficient stores and alternative drive systems.

The REWE Group also intends to make its product range more climate friendly – in terms of the value stage of purchasing, cultivation and production. In this process, the company has set strategic objectives that draw on the requirements of the Science Based Targets Initiative. As part of this effort, REWE and PENNY in Germany intend to achieve an absolute reduction of 15 per cent in the greenhouse gas emissions compared with levels in 2019 by the end of 2030. By the end of 2024, climate goals that are in accordance with the Science Based Targets Initiative should be set with all strategic suppliers, the companies that are responsible for a total of 75 per cent of product-related emissions. All measures being used to carry out the strategy should be based on the principle of “avoidance first, then reduction, then compensation”. As a result of this effort, the REWE Group’s supply chains in the areas of wood/paper, palm oil and soya-based feed should be deforestation-free by the end of 2025 , amongst other things. The group of companies is also making its store-brand product range more climate friendly. In addition, it has used its innovative solutions to position itself as a driver and market leader in the industry by taking such steps as offering completely plant-based store brands. The REWE Group plays an active role in climate-protection projects as well: In one reflection of this effort, the REWE sales line made its first contribution of 5 million euros to the new NABU Climate Fund in 2022. It will donate this amount each year for a period of five years. The purpose of the fund is to support efforts to rewet moors whose soil has been degraded by agriculture and peat extraction. When wet, moors store a quarter of terrestrial carbon although they take up only 3 per cent of global land areas. The fund carries out its mission by purchasing or signing long-term leases for dewatered moors located in Germany and EU countries in the Baltic Sea region. It also helps farmers make the transition from conventional agricultural methods to climate-protecting wet-meadow practises.

This SDG strives to sharply reduce ocean and sea pollution. This work also applies to the sustainable management of coastal eco-systems and fish stocks as well as to the reduction of acidification.

The REWE Group has a good understanding of the impact that its supply chain has on water. In the Guideline on Water Protection in the Supply Chain that it issued in 2020, the group of companies compiled its programmes and goals related to the reduction of water usage and water pollution.

As it carries out these programmes, the company works on the level of purchasing, production and cultivation with such certification systems as the Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, Cotton made in Africa and Naturland. These groups require producers to sustainably use water resources in their processes. The REWE Group also works continuously to eliminate identified hot spots: This effort includes a detox programme for clothing, shoes and home textiles sold by its private label brands for the purpose of systematically reducing chemical pollution in water. The company also plans to completely eliminate harmful microplastic from its private label brand products – and expand this ban to other product groups.

In the Guideline on Fish and Seafood, REWE and PENNY in Germany have drawn up a list of transparency requirements for their suppliers – regarding the sustainable use of the seas and sustainable fishing. The objective here is to obtain 100 per cent certified store-brand items (MSC, GLOBALG.A.P., ASC, organic certification) in the areas of frozen, convenience, fresh and tinned foods.

The objectives of SDG 15 are multilayered: protecting land-based eco-systems, restoring and fostering their sustainable use, sustainably managing forests, fighting desertification, stopping and reversing soil degradation and halting the loss of biodiversity.

To protect and foster biodiversity, the REWE Group works on the value level of purchasing and applies such systems of standards as Bio, Fairtrade and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) that focus on the protection of biodiversity as the company creates more sustainable product ranges. The REWE Group has also dedicated itself to environmentally conscious and socially responsible forestry: Supply chains in the areas of wood/paper, palm oil and soya-based animal feed should be deforestation-free by the end of 2025 . The company is increasingly obtaining wood and paper for its products and packaging from sustainably managed sources that have been certified in accordance with sustainability standards. To protect the role of moors as important carbon sinks, the company plans to switch to peat-free soil in all store-brand and brand products by 2025. As part of efforts to restore moors, the REWE sales line of the REWE Group began a programme this year in which it will contribute 5 million euros annually to the newly established NABU Climate Fund for a period of five years. The purpose of the fund is to support measures to rewet moors whose soil has been degraded by agriculture and peat extraction. This work will not only prevent the release of tremendous amounts of greenhouse gases (see SDG 13), but will also help to restore habitats for many animals and plants that have become rare, including the common snipe, the moor frog and the sundew – and make a vital contribution to the preservation of biodiversity in the process.

The REWE Group is also active in many collaborative initiatives and projects that involve large numbers of farmers and partners like the Nature Protection Alliance Germany and the Lake Constance Foundation. Since 2010, the company has been working to improve biodiversity at conventional fruit and vegetable farms as part of the PRO PLANET project that it conducts with farmers and environmentalists – the effort was aimed originally at apple and pear plantations. Its focus expanded in 2016 to include fruit and vegetable cultures. The company plans to convert all relevant regional fruit and vegetable products offered by its store brands to biodiversity-fostering agricultural practise by 2025. In March 2021, the REWE Group also became a charter member of the organisation called Food for Biodiversity, which lobbies for the development of uniform biodiversity standards in the food retail sector.