GRI 203

Projects and Sponsorships

As an international commercial company, the REWE Group assumes responsibility that extends beyond its core business. With the help of strong, long-term partnerships and dedicated employees, the company therefore carries out a broad range of projects and measures designed to help society.

Conscious nutrition and exercise, opportunities for children and adolescents, vigilant approach to food, and biodiversity and environmental protection are the four areas of action in the pillar Social Commitment within the REWE Group's Sustainability Strategy. In order to promote these four individual topics, the commercial company is involved in a large number of projects.

GRI 203: Indirect economic impacts

Management approach

Principles

The REWE Group considers itself to be a good corporate citizen. This means that it assumes responsibility where it does business and where help is needed within the realm of its own possibilities. In particular, the Group works on behalf of children and adolescents and promotes healthy diets and a vigilant approach to food (also see Social Commitment).

When it comes to donations and sponsorship, a combine-wide guideline applies for the REWE Group, which serves as a basic set of rules. According to this guideline, the company must ensure that any projects and initiatives being implemented are in line with the REWE Group's mission statement as well as its compliance and sustainability principles.

Implementation

As part of its social commitment to national projects, the REWE Group relies on long-term partnerships with non-profit organisations. This cooperation creates unity and ensures that the projects are successful. Education is particularly important to the REWE Group and is part of projects in all sales lines. Examples include the construction of schools and support for educational institutions. Additional focal points are defined by the core business of the sales lines as well as the four areas of action in which projects arise: conscious nutrition and exercise; opportunities for children and adolescents; vigilant approach to food; and biodiversity and environmental protection.

Many projects in the area of social commitment are implemented by independent retailers in the locality of their stores. Local activities make up a large share of all projects and therefore make a significant contribution to the involvement of the REWE Group.

Despite the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the projects selected here undertaken during the reporting period were implemented. They are sorted as follows:

Infrastructure investments and services supported
Significant indirect economic impacts in the four areas of action

GRI 203-1:

Infrastructure investments and services supported

Through emergency aid projects, the REWE Group promotes investments in infrastructure and services at its sites as well as in destinations and countries relevant to DER Touristik where special support is desperately needed. Amongst other things, the projects must correspond to the funding purposes of the DER Touristik Foundation.

Help for those affected by the flooding catastrophe in Germany

In response to the flooding catastrophe in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in mid-July 2021, retailers, store managers, store teams and administrative offices of the REWE Group have provided non-bureaucratic help at short notice. For example, PENNY, REWE, toom Baumarkt DIY stores, nahkauf and Lekkerland have generously donated food and other urgently needed everyday items to many of the affected towns and communities directly on site and provided volunteers.

The commercial company, which itself was affected by the flooding catastrophe (55 stores at REWE, nahkauf and PENNY), has also provided support through donations:

In July, PENNY called on customers to donate to the flood victims and tripled the amount. In total, the German Red Cross flood relief campaign received around 1.35 million euros.
The REWE Group set up a flood relief fund for affected colleagues – within a matter of days and weeks, just under 1.4 million euros of emergency aid were paid out, including almost 500,000 euros in donations from around 1,300 employees of the REWE Group.
From mid-October until the end of December 2021, customers at toom Baumarkt DIY stores were given the option to round up the total of their purchases to the next full euro amount. The amounts collected through this rounding-up campaign then flowed to non-profit organisations for reconstruction efforts. In total, 20,000 euros were collected. This was rounded up by toom Baumarkt DIY stores to 50,000 euros.
REWE contributed to the charity action “Ein Herz für Kinder” (A Heart for Children) with a donation of one million euros. Through this campaign by the organisation BILD hilft e. V., a total of 3.7 million euros flowed into the reconstruction of children's facilities, including day-care centres, schools, playgrounds and sports fields, in those regions particularly affected.
Through the donation of bottle deposits in some REWE regions, 61,000 euros were collected for the German Red Cross flood relief campaign.

Support for people in the Ukraine and refugees

Mid-March 2022, the REWE Group donated to those in need in Ukraine. For example, the company responded to a call by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) with donations in kind of almost one thousand tonnes of food and hygiene products. Furthermore, large amounts of donations in kind from REWE and PENNY stores were brought to the Polish-Ukrainian border. The REWE Group national companiesin Eastern Europe provided most of the initial aid. In addition, the REWE Group supported the German Red Cross fund-raising campaign for Ukraine with one million euros. A platform was set up so that employees could also get involved in fundraising. Many stores gave customers the option to donate their bottle deposits and retailers helped local organisations. For example, the REWE Group in Cologne provided the organisation “Blau-Gelbes Kreuz” (Blue-Yellow Cross) with donations in kind and gave their team relief through volunteers.

DER Touristik helped the Ukraine action “Touristik hilft” to set up its website of the same name, www.touristik-hilft.de, where details of accommodation for Ukrainian refugees can be entered and filtered by type, size or location. Currently, the focus is on Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but other regions can also be entered.

Unity during the corona pandemic: “The Tafel” food bank support

The REWE Group has been one of the main supporters of more than 950 local Tafel food banks across Germany since 1996 – and, for many years now, it has also served as a sponsor of many events organised by Tafel Deutschland e. V. In the financial year, the corona pandemic continued to pose challenges for food banks. Demand for supply increased, but there was less support from volunteers. PENNY and REWE provided relief here with cash donations and donations in kind. As part of a call for more solidarity, part of the proceeds from the sale of a special edition of PENNY toilet paper, amounting to 40,000 euros, was donated to food banks. In addition, a total of 100,000 corona self-tests were donated. Once again, as the main sponsor, the REWE Group supported the Members' Meeting of the Tafel food banks, which took place digitally for the first time. Furthermore, ten lots of 1,000 euros were given to local food banks through a raffle to celebrate 25 years of partnership between Tafel and REWE.

Despite corona-related constraints, the “Fill the Plate Together!” campaign, which has taken place annually since 2009, also managed to be run: REWE and nahkauf stores as well as the REWE online shop called on customers to buy donation bags. These are filled with long-lasting food products such as pasta, rice or soup. Almost all 950 food banks across Germany received supplies, with a total of around 544,000 bags worth over 2.5 million euros. The REWE sales line donated 40,000 of these bags.

Fund-raising projects by employees

For eleven years now, many employees at the REWE Group have been donating a fixed amount from their monthly wage to education projects run by the charity organisation Kindernothilfe in Haiti, in particular for the earthquake-proof Collège Véréna in Port-au-Prince. Over four million euros have been collected in this way so far. At the end of 2020, the employee fundraising project was relaunched with the addition of desired projects. Employees from all sales lines were able to vote on new donation projects. In April 2021, the donation phase for the following selected projects started:

Little Home Köln e. V. – small houses for homeless people (see Small Houses for the Homeless)
Kindernothilfe e. V. – The protective schools in Haiti (see Together for Haiti)
DER Touristik Foundation e. V. – Black Mambas (see The DER Touristik Foundation, Black Mambas, South Africa)
• Tafel Deutschland e. V. – Children and Adolescent Fund: Local food banks are working on projects to ensure that disadvantaged children and adolescents across Germany have the same social and cultural educational opportunities as peers from wealthier families. The fund is financing initiatives such as age-appropriate cooking and environmental projects.

Small houses for the homeless

toom Baumarkt DIY stores have been supporting the organisation Little Home Köln e. V. with building materials for the “Little Homes” since 2019. The small mobile houses provide homeless people with a sheltered living space and therefore support them on their way back into society. In 2021, 18 small houses were built, making it a total of 48 since 2019.

Together for Haiti

Since the earthquake in 2010, the REWE Group has been been working together with the charity organisation Kindernothilfe in Haiti to provide children and adolescents with better access to education. Using donations from its employees and retailers, the REWE Group teamed with the organisation to enable the reconstruction of Collège Véréna, a school in a slum area of Port-au-Prince which was completely destroyed by the earthquake. Some 1,500 children can attend school here.

In addition, since 2015, various projects have enabled Restavèk children – the name given to children from rural areas whose impoverished families sent them to guest families in the city to work – to have a basic school education. Since 2016, a scholarship programme created by the REWE Group has been enabling graduates of Collège Véréna who are in great need and Restavèk children to undergo vocational training or go to college.

Due to the reconstruction of Collège Véréna being completed, the employee donation programme ended in 2020. The school and the scholarship programme for gifted graduates will continue to receive support through a fund until 2025. The money also enables maintenance work and any necessary purchases as well as child sponsorships and the annual Christmas celebrations.

With the “Schützende Schule” (protective school) project, Kindernothilfe in Haiti is once again part of the recipient projects of the employee donation programme. The school is located in a slum in Lévêque, which was provisionally erected by earthquake survivors two hours north of Port-au-Prince. Here children learn to protect not only themselves from violence and natural disasters, but also their environment, since, according to Kindernothilfe, violence falls when urban areas become greener and more homelike.

In August 2021, Haiti was affected once again by a severe earthquake. Many people lost their homes in the south-west part of the country. Kindernothilfe set up centres in Haiti for those children affected, where they could get protection, support and warm meals. The REWE Group provided support here with an additional donation of 23,000 euros.

The DER Touristik Foundation

With its non-profit organisation, the DER Touristik Foundation, DER Touristik – as an international travel group – is demonstrating its commitment to its social responsibility towards people and nature in its travel destinations. The potential of tourism should be used to protect the environment and promote economic development in the host countries. Through the DER Touristik Foundation, DER Touristik bundles its social commitment beyond its business activities. In addition, the foundation ensures that sponsorship projects receive effective, long-term support.

The DER Touristik Foundation strives to promote and protect the social and economic conditions of people and the ecosystems in less developed tourism regions of the world. Training measures are designed to create prospects and empower local residents to reduce poverty and inequality, contribute to growth and prosperity, and promote the preservation of nature and wildlife.

For example, since 2014, the DER Touristik Foundation has facilitated the construction and renovation of more than 62 schools in 21 countries on five continents. In 2021 alone, a total of four school construction projects were completed using donations. A new school was built in each of Kenya, Madagascar and India, whilst a school in South Africa was equipped with disinfectants and hygiene stations, plexiglass panels for the pupils, protective visors for the teachers and additional tables/chairs in order to make it corona-safe. These projects enable children and adolescents to get an education and increase their ability to live independent lives.

Together – even in difficult times: support during the corona pandemic

In 2021 too, fewer people were travelling than before the pandemic due to Covid-19. Particularly in emerging and developing countries, this led to little or no income in many places. In addition, relief organisations were receiving fewer donations. Therefore, in 2020, the DER Touristik Foundation decided to continue supporting a number of projects which had already been completed. In 2021, these included the KOTO training centre near Hanoi, Vietnam. Young people who come from difficult backgrounds and, in some cases, have suffered sexual abuse, can complete an apprenticeship in the catering industry here. From 2017 to 2019, the DER Touristik Foundation had supported the renovation and expansion of the KOTO training restaurant. In the financial year, the DER Touristik Foundation funded tuition for 100 trainees so that these adolescents do not lose their education and future opportunities.

In 2021, the DER Touristik Foundation supported the following projects for the first time. They are summarised in the brochure “Auf gutem Weg” (On the right track):

Hospitality Training Center, Thailand: The Pimali Foundation in Nong Khai offers young Thailanders from disadvantaged backgrounds and orphans a professional training framework. Each year, it takes in young people who are at least 15 years old and have finished school. The training focuses on “learning by doing” and enables the acquisition of skills in various areas of the hotel industry and their use during a six-month internship at hotel partners. The DER Touristik Foundation is funding five of the places at the Pimali Foundation as well as the subsequent six-month internship at partner hotels.
Coral Reef Restoration, the Caribbean: DER Touristik is supporting a pilot project on the Caribbean island of Barbados, which is suffering from significant coral mortality in the reefs off its south and west coasts. The plan here is to use Biorock technology to accelerate coral growth and thereby preserve marine biodiversity. Frames made of structural steel and metal mesh, through which a weak current flows, are lowered into the sea. Through electrochemical processes, a solid crust of the salts aragonite and brucite dissolved in seawater gradually forms on them. In this way, one to three centimetres of solid limestone grows on the surface of these artificial coral reefs each year. The project is equipped with real-time monitoring systems which are collecting data on water quality for the duration of a five-year monitoring programme. The project is complemented by a comprehensive education campaign which is intended to make students and adolescents in particular aware of the programme.
Tortoise Protection, Indian Ocean: Following the shipwreck off the coast of Île aux Aigrettes in Mauritius in July 2020, the Aldabra giant tortoises who live on the beaches and are important to Mauritian habitats were massively threatened by oil vapours. Since this disaster, in order to ensure their survival, baby tortoises have been brought from their original habitat – the nature reserve on Île aux Aigrettes – to a rearing station on Round Island for two years, where they grow under surveillance and protection. Daily care includes regular medical check-ups as well as sufficient food and weight checks. After two years, the Aldabra giant tortoises are strong enough to be sent back to Île aux Aigrettes. Work has been taking place there with international experts and residents to mitigate the consequences of the oil spill.

In addition, the DER Touristik Foundation is involved through the following projects:

Rhino Protection, South Africa: Since 2013, the Black Mambas, 36 young women from the region, have been protecting around 13,000 rhinos in the Kruger National Park from poaching, which has risen again due to the absence of tourists during the pandemic and thus a lack of income. Since 2020, the DER Touristik Foundation has been funding a multi-week refresher course for the group to become wildlife experts. The initiative was selected to be one of the employee fundraising projects during the financial year. The DER Touristik Foundation is also financing the on-site Bush Babies programme: As part of this, some 1,300 children and adolescents from local schools are learning about the environment, food security and animal welfare.
Training, Cambodia: Since 2019, the DER Touristik Foundation has been supporting the training of ten young Cambodians in the tourism sector through a project by the organisation Smiling Gecko e. V. Despite the corona pandemic, training continued in 2021.
Marine Reserve, Greece: Completed in 2021 with the support of the DER Touristik Foundation, a veterinary clinic and a visitor centre have been built as part of a conservation area for seals, turtles and dolphins on the Greek island of Lipsi. Due to delays caused by the corona pandemic, the opening and start-up of operations have been moved to 2022.
Training, Tanzania: Since 2016, the DER Touristik Foundation has been supporting projects in the Simanjiro District located south of Kilimanjaro, including the construction and equipment of various schools as well as the erection of a seminar centre for Maasai women. Since 2020, the construction of a crafts centre has been underway for secondary school leavers who want to train as a carpenter or locksmith.
Environmental Education, Tanzania: Since 2017, through promotion of the environmental programme “Living in Harmony with Nature” at secondary schools in the Simanjiro District, the DER Touristik Foundation has been raising awareness amongst young people of the importance of wildlife and the conservation of natural resources.

GRI 203-2:

Significant indirect economic impacts

The business activities of the REWE Group have significant indirect economic impacts: In its stores and travel agencies, the REWE Group employs about 380,000 people inside and outside Germany. When new stores are opened, communities benefit from infrastructure investments, taxes and fees as well as from a broad range of social activities undertaken by employees, store managers and independent retailers. In doing so, the REWE Group generates important momentum for the development and growth of the regions where its stores do business.

Projects to promote healthy nutrition and exercise

Since 2000, the REWE Group has been supporting the group “5 am Tag” (5 a day) as a charter member. The aim is to boost consumption of fruit and vegetables to five portions a day in order to promote a healthy diet. In addition, as part of its membership with the consumer group Deutsche Stiftung Verbraucherschutz, for example, the REWE Group promotes the imparting of consumer skills. Furthermore, it is involved through the following projects:

Promotion and communication of healthy diet through educational campaign

With the food bank group Tafel Deutschland e. V. and other partners, REWE provides participating schools with Power Boxes (Power Kiste) that contain an alternating range of foods selected by dietary experts to be used in preparing breakfast in the classroom. This enables children to get their day off to a healthy start. At the end of 2021, 23 schools and over 1,400 children were receiving the boxes from Monday to Friday. In this way, around 122,000 breakfasts were provided in the 2020/21 school year. Due to school closures caused by the pandemic, the project had to be temporarily suspended. Almost 15,000 children have received over 1.8 million breakfasts since 2009. The project is supported with donations from brands such as Chiquita, Danone, Ehrmann, FrieslandCampina, Mondelez, Nestlé, Unilever, Zentis, Henkel, Rügenwalder Mühle and Eurogroup (part of the REWE Group).

In 2021, eleven additional schools took part in the inaugural “Power Kiste Light” (Power Box Light) project. In this concept, they receive breakfast items offered by the REWE delivery service.

In some parts of Germany, REWE also promotes nutrition workshops. They are designed to help children in day-care centres to playfully learn about healthy diets. For this purpose, digital media is used during the daily training course. Since 2009, over 250,000 children have taken part in nutrition workshops supported by REWE. In the financial year, 432 workshops (2020: 380, 2019: 925) took place for around 8,600 children. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, not all workshops could be carried out as planned.

Torhunger (Hunger for Goals): promoting a healthy diet through football

As an official dietary partner of the German Football Association (DFB), the REWE sales line has been promoting a healthy diet in sport since 2008. Children and adolescents have been the focus since 2019: As part of the campaign “Torhunger” (Hunger for Goals), REWE supports them through football camps where they learn the important basics of proper nutrition in practical modules, for example. By the end of 2021, over 1,400 of these camps had been run for almost 60,000 children.

Projects to promote opportunities for children and adolescents

For years, the REWE Group has systematically taken part in projects that promote the development of children and young people. An important approach is the support from volunteers and local organisations who pass on their knowledge and experience in direct contact.

Sharing experiences as a business partner: “Lernen macht Schule” initiative

During the educational and integration initiative “Lernen macht Schule” (Learning Catches On), children from socially disadvantaged families and students from the Vienna University of Economics and Business learn with and from one another. Each semester, about 140 so-called learning buddies from the university support about 260 children and adolescents in facilities operated by the Catholic charity Caritas. In 2021, just as in the previous year, digital channels were used again during lockdowns when schools were closed. This contact is intended to strengthen empathetic perspectives and character. The REWE Group in Austria acts as a business partner and presents itself as an attractive employer at the same time.

In another mentoring project, the REWE Group takes part in the sponsorship programme “EHRENSACHE” (Act of Honour) in cooperation with the non-profit employment organisation Joblinge to provide internships and job-entry qualification training to socially disadvantaged young people.

Since 2018, PENNY, as a sponsor, has been supporting the national “Best Junior Company” competition run by IW JUNIOR, a subsidiary of the German Economic Institute. For the competition, which is held at state, national and soon even EU level, participating students come up with a business idea and test it out for a whole school year.

Förderpenny (Sponsorship Penny) initiative supports local children and adolescents

With its Förderpenny (Sponsorship Penny) initiative (formerly the Goodwill Basket), the PENNY sales line has been supporting local non-profit organisations that work on behalf of children and adolescents since 2015. In 2021, PENNY handed out grants worth 266,000 euros to 123 winners in 41 neighbourhood regions. Choosing from more than 850 applicants, regional juries initially selected three winners per neighbourhood region, each receiving 2,000 euros in prize money. In the next step, customers and supporters of the organisations had the opportunity to vote for one of the three winners in their neighbourhood. All first-place organisations received the customer donations from stores in their neighbourhood for a year: By saying “keep the change” when paying at the till, the purchase total was rounded up to the next 10-cent amount, enabling customers to support the first-place group in their area. Since the beginning of the initiative, grants worth over 2.2 million euros have been paid out, including around one million euros from customer donations.

In addition, three national prize winners were chosen from all the first-place winners during the financial year, receiving prize money totalling 20,000 euros. These were the child and youth welfare association “Kinder- und Jugendhilferechtsverein Dresden”, the youth and cultural centre “Jugend- und Kulturzentrum Stockumer Schule”, and Coming Out Day e. V.

As part of the “Aufrunden” (round up) programme, the REWE Group is also active in Austria with the trade companies BILLA, BILLA Plus, BIPA and PENNY. Thanks to the support of customers, a total of over 196,000 euros were collected during the financial year. Therefore, a total of 1.3 million euros have been donated between 2013 and the end of 2021. The money is used to support projects by Caritas, including learning cafés, special education programmes and mother-child homes.

Donations at nahkauf

Since 2009, the REWE sales format nahkauf has been involved in the organisation BILD hilft e. V. “Ein Herz für Kinder” (A Heart for Children), which supports children and families in emergency situations. In 2021, a total of 400,000 euros were donated to the organisation. Since the start of the partnership, this has enabled over 3.6 million euros to be collected.

For freedom from barriers and inclusive playgrounds: cooperation with Aktion Mensch

Since 2020, one cent from every “babytime” private label product sold at PENNY and REWE has been flowing to a selected, changing project partner of Aktion Mensch. Almost 165,000 euros were collected in 2021. These funds have been used to support the setting up of an inclusion assistance service for day-care centres and schools. The aim of this project is to enable around 60 impaired children and adolescents to attend a regular day-care centre or school through the support of inclusion assistants.

To promote motoric and social development at early ages, REWE also supports the construction of inclusive playgrounds along with the German charity Aktion Mensch and Procter & Gamble. Since April 2018, one cent from each sale of a Procter & Gamble product has been donated to the project “Stück zum Glück” (the Coin to Happiness) for inclusive playgrounds – over 1.3 million euros since 2019. By the end of 2021, the money raised had been used to build or expand 33 inclusive playgrounds throughout Germany.

In many REWE stores, customers can also donate their bottle deposits to local support projects from Aktion Mensch as well as local organisations of their choice. In this way, over 1.95 million euros were generated and donated in 1,548 stores in 2021.

Cooperation with Lebenshilfe

Inclusion is also an important topic at toom Baumarkt DIY stores. Since 2014, the sales line has therefore been cooperating with Lebenshilfe, the German association for people with mental disabilities, their families, experts and friends. The aim is to break down barriers by talking with each other and to familiarise customers with the topics of inclusion and diversity. For this purpose, 40 toom Baumarkt DIY stores throughout Germany have established partnerships with Lebenshilfe facilities in their city or region. The commitment consists of the following project focuses:

Local actions at the toom Baumarkt DIY stores – such as joint sales of Christmas trees
Publication of the brochure “Selbermachen leicht gemacht” (DIY made easy) for three popular DIY topics as well as a video in easy-to-understand language
Workshop work stations for people with disabilities in toom Baumarkt DIY stores

One main focal point involves the inclusion of employees. In this effort, toom Baumarkt DIY stores have set up work stations for Lebenshilfe workshops in 21 stores. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, no new measures could be implemented during the financial year, either for the workshop work stations or the local actions. These local partnerships still exist.

Projects to promote a vigilant approach to food

The REWE Group strives to keep food waste to a minimum (see also Circular Economy and Packaging). As part of this effort, it works with upstream production stages and its own stores. With the help of modern forecasting systems and automatic ordering processes, supported by the commercial experience of the employees, stores can be supplied with fresh goods as they are needed. Short transport routes between warehouse locations and stores, end-to-end refrigeration from production to shelf as well as regular employee training help to keep losses to a minimum.
On average, PENNY and REWE sell over 98 per cent of their foods each year. Food which can no longer be sold but can be consumed without risk is donated across Germany to over 950 local food bank initiatives. REWE has been making such donations since 1996 and PENNY since 2007. In addition, both sales lines work with the organisation foodsharing e. V. Lekkerland also campaigns against food waste, with the sales line's stores donating food to food banks. Furthermore, as part of a partnership with “Too good to go”, the company is encouraging business partners to offer consumers the “Too good to go” app. This connects them to food outlets and businesses which have unsold, surplus food to sell at a discount price.

Because consumers are responsible for most food waste, the REWE Group conducts information and educational campaigns aimed at its customers. The PENNY sales line has been involved in this topic for years and provides tips on how best to store food or be creative in recycling leftovers, for instance. Since 2019, as part of the “Saving Precious Goods” campaign, selected private label products such as yoghurt, cream and butter have been labelled with the instruction “Smell. Taste. Enjoy.” right next to the best-before date.

“Retterregal” (Rescue Shelf) campaign

In October 2021, the “Retterregal” (Rescue Shelf) campaign started online and in the interactive sustainability store “PENNY Grüner Weg” in Berlin. As part of this three-month campaign, products were available from four selected start-ups, who make products from leftover food or food which can no longer be sold and therefore help to stop food waste. The start-ups taking part were:

Rettergut: This company processes fruit and vegetables with minor imperfections to make organic spreads and soft drinks.
Helden Brot & Knödelkult: These start-ups give unsold bread a second life – in the form of bread crisps and bread dumplings.
Zero Bullshit: This company makes snacks from raw materials which are left over from food production and not further processed, for example crackers made from sunflower seed flour resulting from the production of sunflower oil.
wisefood: This start-up produces edible disposable tableware made, for example, from consumable apple fibres which are left over from the production of apple juice.

The project had scientific support from the non-profit international think-and-do tank Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production in Wuppertal and the Thünen Institute. The goal was to measure the impact on customer awareness and the actual cost-benefit balance of food waste. The results should follow in the course of 2022.

Reducing food waste together

Since the end of 2019, the REWE Group, through its REWE and PENNY sales lines, has been a member of the Nationales Dialogforum zur Reduzierung der Lebensmittelverschwendung (National Dialogue Forum for Reduction of Food Waste) of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The company is therefore supporting the national strategy for the reduction of food waste and signalling its intention to contribute to the global goal of reducing food waste by 50 per cent by 2030. Measures for the reduction of food waste are being developed though the dialogue forum. In 2021, all food losses of the previous year were recorded again as part of a measurement process and published in a report by the Thünen Institute. The convenience sales line Lekkerland also joined the dialogue forum during this period, increasing data acquisition from the wholesale trade. In the next step, project parters are agreeing specific joint reduction goals. The target agreement is set to be published in summer 2022.

The REWE Group is also involved as a partner of “Tafel macht Zukunft – gemeinsam digital” (Tafel creates the future – together digital). The goal of this project is to make it easier for food to be salvaged by food banks through the use of digital solutions. By doing so, it should be possible to rescue more food from going to waste in the future and get it to those who need it. During the reporting period, the digital delivery note was tested for the first time in PENNY and REWE stores and is now being rolled out gradually. At the end of 2021, 14 food banks were involved in the project.

Projects to promote biodiversity and environmental protection

The REWE Group and NABU establish NABU Climate Fund

In 2022, the REWE Group and NABU have added another component to their long-standing partnership. Starting in 2022 and for five years, the REWE sales line will pay five million euros each year into the newly created NABU Climate Fund. The purpose of the NABU Climate Fund is to counteract the drainage of peat bogs caused by agriculture and peat cutting and therefore the release of large amounts of greenhouse gases. On the one hand, heavily drained peat bog areas are being purchased or leased over the long term. On the other hand, farms are receiving support with switching over from conventional farming methods to climate-friendly wetlands management.

As part of the work done by the non-profit organisation DER Touristik Foundation e. V., DER Touristik supports the project “Chili against Elephants”. A sensitisation campaign is to raise the awareness level of people in Tanzania about the promotion of ecological habitats and biodiversity since conflicts are arising again and again as populations grow and people migrate to regions bordering on nature conservation areas. Elephants frequently destroy the annual harvest of entire villages and are often killed as a result. The solution: the elephants have a strong sense of smell and stay away from chilli plants. By surrounding crops with so-called chilli fences, about 75 per cent of the original damage can be avoided. The local population is taught how to grow and maintain these fences. The project is being carried out in cooperation with Upendo e. V. and PAMS Foundation.

Further projects which demonstrate the REWE Group's commitments in the area of action “biodiversity and environmental protection” are described in the section Biodiversity.