Climate Protection at Corporate Level

The activities in the area of climate protection at corporate level come under the Climate-relevant Emissions area of action, which is one of the three area of action in the Energy, Climate and Environment pillar of the company-wide Sustainability Strategy, along with Resource Conservation and Energy Efficiency.

Effect

The REWE Group is aware that its business activities produce greenhouse gases – firstly along supply chains (see section Climate Protection in the Supply Chain) and, secondly, through operation of stores, travel agencies and headquarters, as well as through transportation of goods or through business trips. Electricity, heating, refrigerants and fuels, for example, are consumed (see section Share of greenhouse gas emissions by emitter group). The company sees global warming – along with extinction of species – as one of the most serious crises of our time. Studies have revealed that its consequences can have a direct influence on food security. For example, extreme weather events like droughts, torrential rain or flooding can reduce food productivity and reliability of supply. They can also have a negative effect on the infrastructure of the REWE Group locations and the company’s tourist destinations. With regard to climate protection, regulatory requirements for companies and stakeholders are increasing. But this also means opportunities for the REWE Group: All activities aimed at saving energy or reducing greenhouse gas emissions at its own locations, and in stores and warehouses, as well as adhering to environmental standards and investments in transformation, can have a positive effect on the company’s reputation and, in the long term, reduce the costs of the negative consequences of climate change (for more information about the risks and opportunities, see Risk Management). For these reasons, climate protection has been a key component of the REWE Group's sustainability strategy from the outset. The topics that are relevant to the company according to the materiality analysis are covered in the Green Products pillar (Ecological Aspects in the Supply Chain, Climate Protection in the Supply Chain) and in the Energy, Climate and Environment pillar. The company has already been continuously pushing ahead with reducing climate-relevant emissions, with clear objectives and concrete measures, for over ten years – even before the Paris Agreement (see following sections).

Principles

Through its Guideline on Sustainable Business Practices, which was first published in 2011 and last updated in 2022, the REWE Group undertakes to continuously reduce the greenhouse gases that result from its business processes. It promotes the use of renewable energy sources. The company is also lowering its specific energy consumption by taking appropriate measures and informing its employees about energy-saving behaviour.

In the reporting year, the company has also decided to sign up to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) with REWE and PENNY in Germany. Registering with the initiative will take until autumn 2023.

Responsibility and Resources

The topic of Climate Protection at Corporate Level is the responsibility of the Energy, Climate and Environment working group. The working group is headed by Telerik Schischmanow (Member of the Executive Board – Finance). Dedicated units work on and expedite operational implementation in the regions and strategic business units.

Implementation

In order to achieve its objectives, the REWE Group has had its greenhouse gas emissions at corporate level assessed annually by independent experts since 2006. This enables the group to check its progress. The assessment framework covers the parts of the value chain that can be directly controlled: The emission data refer to the process chain from central warehouses to the REWE Group stores, as well as to travel agencies and administration. Production and transportation of products and product use and disposal by customers are not taken into consideration.

During the reporting period, monitoring, i.e., the annual carbon footprint report, was conducted by INFRAS AG for Germany and by denkstatt GmbH for Austria.¹ The greenhouse gas emissions are calculated by the providers in accordance with the GHG Protocol. As in previous years, data, e.g. from the GEMIS material flow analysis model, the TREMOD transport emissions model and the lifecycle analysis database Ecoinvent were used to determine the CO₂ equivalent emission factors.

Along with the savings achieved, the results of the carbon footprint report¹also show the company’s fundamental leverage. According to the report, the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions are electricity and heating, refrigerants used in refrigeration systems and logistics.

For an accurate breakdown for 2022, see section Share of greenhouse gas emissions by emitter group (Scope 1–3) in 2022.

All measures for implementing the defined objectives are taken on a company-wide basis and explicit mention is made of potential deviations. The chapter Climate Protection in the Supply Chain reports on the upstream supply chain.

¹ The data and results of the carbon footprint report were not audited by KPMG.

To avoid and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at corporate level, the REWE Group is committed to the following additional focal points: modern, energy-efficient stores (see Green Building) and alternative power units (see Logistics and Mobility), along with eco-friendlier refrigerants (see section Savings) and green electricity (see section Energy) as the measures to achieve its targets. The REWE Group aims to neutralise unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions in future by taking appropriate measures.

Involvement of Stakeholders

The topic of Climate Protection was rated as particularly relevant by stakeholders in the Materiality Analysis last updated in 2020. They are informed about the measures taken and their effectiveness in the annual Sustainability Report. Various dialogue formats (see Stakeholder Dialogue) allow stakeholders to join in the exchange of ideas and contribute important input on the issue.

Customers, suppliers, and partners, as well as other stakeholders, can submit their complaints or comments on this topic. For this purpose, the REWE Group has established reporting and grievance mechanisms. For more information, please refer to the Compliance section. There were no complaints about the topic of Climate Protection at Corporate Level for the reporting year.

The absolute greenhouse gas emissions at corporate level for all international REWE Group companies fell from 1.48 million tonnes in the baseline year 2019 to around 1.31 million tonnes for 2022. That equates to a decrease of around 11.6 per cent.

Absolute greenhouse gas emissions (in tonnes of CO₂-equivalents)²

Scope: All countries and companies of the REWE Group including retailers.

¹ GRI 2-4: In comparison with the 2020 reporting year, the baseline year for the KPIs report has changed from 2006 to 2019; the reporting framework was also extended to cover all countries and companies where the REWE Group is active. Furthermore, the values from 2020 were retrospectively corrected due to the absence of consolidation units compared with reports from previous years.

² The green electricity for the REWE Group companies in Germany satisfies the requirements of TÜV SÜD in accordance with Label EE01.

The specific greenhouse gas emissions (per square metre of sales area) of the REWE Group have decreased over the reporting period. In 2022, they amounted to 119 kilograms of CO₂equivalents per square metre (2021: 127). This is a 13.4 per cent reduction in comparison to the baseline year 2019. The calculation of emission intensity encompasses direct, indirect energy-related and other indirect emissions (Scopes 1, 2 and 3).

Specific greenhouse gas emissions²

The greenhouse gas emissions of the REWE Group in 2022 can be broken down as follows:

Scope: All countries and companies of the REWE Group including retailers.

The REWE Group has taken various measures to save electricity that have led to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (for more information, see section Energy). These measures enabled a saving of around 627 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2022.

Measures to reduce CO₂ emissions¹

Scope: The REWE Group companies in Germany and Austria, including retailers. Lekkerland and REWE Dortmund were not taken into consideration. Units that left the REWE Group during the reporting period relating to the scope were also not taken into consideration.

¹ The calculation is based on the electricity-saving initiatives collected for GRI 302-4.

With regard to the reduction of refrigerant-related greenhouse gas emissions, the REWE Group decided early on to use the most climate-friendly refrigerants possible: natural refrigerants like CO₂ or propane and refrigerants with low greenhouse gas potential. This enabled the REWE Group to reduce its refrigerant-related greenhouse gas emissions from 365,898 tonnes in 2019 to 254,894 tonnes in 2022. This equates to a company-wide reduction of 30.3 per cent.

All interconnected commercial refrigeration installations in new and in most converted REWE and PENNY stores in Germany are operated with the natural refrigerant CO₂. Ready-to-use refrigeration appliances that are used in all new and converted stores are also operated as standard with the natural refrigerant propane (R290). This also applies to the Austrian sales lines BILLA, BILLA PLUS and PENNY.

The REWE Group stopped using ozone-depleting refrigerants in 2020. This is mainly due to the legally prescribed switch from the R22 refrigerant to a non-ozone-depleting refrigerant. Since then, emissions of ozone-depleting substances have therefore been zero for all countries and the REWE Group companies including retailers.

The air pollutants resulting from the REWE Group’s business operations are mainly produced in upstream incineration and production processes for producing electricity, heat and paper. In addition, emissions from refrigerants, Logistics and Business Travel affect air emissions.

Emissions of air pollutants including pre-supply chains (t)

Scope: The REWE Group companies in Germany and Austria, including retailers. Units that left the REWE Group during the reporting period relating to the scope were not taken into consideration.

¹ GRI 2-4: Due to the absence of consolidation units, the values were retrospectively adjusted to enable comparability of the data with the reporting year. In isolated cases, consumption values had been given incorrectly. These were corrected.