Management Approach Energy, Climate and Environment

The effects of climate change are already noticeable today. Extreme weather events threaten ecosystems, biodiversity and the livelihoods of millions of people. The Paris Agreement aims at limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Germany has signed the agreement and derived the necessary regulatory framework: According to the Climate Change Bill, greenhouse gas neutrality must be bindingly achieved in Germany by 2045. Society is also increasingly demanding climate protection measures. The REWE Groups aims to satisfy all these requirements. The company itself has also been affected by the climate change in various ways (see also section Risk Management): Climatic changes can affect our locations, the stability of supply chains or entire travel destinations. In order to make a positive contribution to this topic, the REWE Group aims to reduce the climate-relevant emissions in the upstream supply chains, because they account for the largest share (see also Climate Protection in the Supply Chain). Moreover, the company is also committed to the topic at operational level.

The sustainability pillar Energy, Climate and Environment concerns environment-related activities which take place at corporate level. This includes the construction and operation of stores, travel agencies, warehouses, administration and production premises, logistics as well as the resources and materials required for the Group’s own business activities.

Energy, Climate and Environment is a pillar of the REWE Group’s Sustainability Strategy. The stakeholders confirm the significance of climate protection measures for the REWE Group as part of the Materiality Analysis: The topic was rated as particularly relevant and was ranked third.

Principles

Efforts of the REWE Group regarding climate protection and resource conservation are firmly embedded in the Guideline on Sustainable Business Practices. Based on this guideline, the company commits to continuously reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its business processes. To this end, it promotes the use of renewable energy sources and aims to reduce its specific energy consumption by taking appropriate energy-efficiency measures and by educating its employees about energy-saving behaviour. Furthermore, the company optimises its logistics and transportation processes (see Logistics and Mobility).

In addition, the REWE Group endeavours to use resources sparingly and increase the use of recycled and more sustainable materials. This is implemented at operational level, for instance with the construction of the new generation of stores in wood stack construction (see Green Building) or with reusable solutions (see also Waste). The REWE Group has also developed comprehensive approaches on private label level (see Packaging und Circular Economy).

As early as 2006, the company has drawn up its first carbon footprint at corporate level and has defined its first climate target with its publication in 2009. In 2008, the complete transition to certified green electricity was implemented in Germany. In order to further reduce climate-relevant emissions in the supply chains, the company has defined a climate strategy for the upstream supply chain (Scope 3), which was laid down in the Guideline on Climate Protection in the Supply Chain at the beginning of 2022. A large proportion of global CO₂ emissions are caused by the cultivation, manufacture and consumption of products and by the provision of services. The REWE Group will further develop this guideline into a comprehensive climate protection strategy.

Responsibility

The Energy, Climate and Environment topic is controlled by the Energy, Climate and Environment working group in which all sales lines and relevant holding areas are represented. The working group is headed by Telerik Schischmanow (Member of the Executive Board – Finance). Mr Schischmanow took up this position on 1 July 2022. His previous position included Divisional Director Retail Germany - Administration and Services.

Implementation

To save energy and avoid climate-damaging emissions, the REWE Group has established a central energy management system to control its efficiency measures (see Energy). It has also been using green electricity since 2008, exploiting optimisation potential in logistics, and has been pursuing a holistic sustainability approach for its sites with its Green Building concept since 2009 (see Green Building). The REWE Group reviews its progress in an annual carbon footprint, which is prepared by independent experts (see Climate Protection at Corporate Level at Corporate Level). Since 2019, this has been collected for all countries and companies of the REWE Group.

In the Energy, Climate and Environment pillar, the REWE Group has identified the following three areas of action as part of a strategy process:

• Climate-Relevant Emissions
• Energy Efficiency
• Resource Conservation

To make its progress in the Energy, Climate and Environment pillar measurable, the REWE Group has defined various KPIs with associated targets. In 2021, the company has set itself a new absolute target: The REWE Group aims to become climate neutral at corporate level by 2040. This applies not only to Germany and Austria, but to all countries and companies in which it operates. Furthermore, in a first step, it aims to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 compared to the baseline year 2019. The emission level where the REWE Group is starting takes into account the use of green electricity in all stores, DIY stores, warehouses and travel agencies in Germany.

In addition, the company decided in the reporting year to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) with REWE and PENNY in Germany. Registration with the initiative will take until autumn 2023 (for more information, see Climate Protection in the Supply Chain).

In addition to its climate targets, the REWE Group has defined KPIs on its electricity consumption, its refrigerant-related greenhouse gas emissions and its fossil fuel consumption, including district heating. In this way, the effectiveness of the measures on energy efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions becomes comprehensible.

The following sections of the GRI report contain all approaches, data and topics of the Energy, Climate and Environment pillar:

• Waste
• Energy
• Green Building
• Climate Protection at Corporate Level
• Logistics and Mobility
• Materials
• Operational Water Consumption