PRO PLANET

Effect

The REWE Group is aware that the production of goods for the food retail sector is associated with negative effects, with particular focus on the raw material extraction and the processing of products in the upstream supply chains as well as their packaging. In order to address complex challenges such as human rights risks, the unsustainable use of pesticides or the consequences of extensive animal husbandry, the company is committed to ensuring that the growing range of private label products is produced in a more socially and ecologically sustainable manner or meets higher animal welfare standards. Especially in the supply chains of its private labels, the REWE Group can exert great influence to avoid and reduce negative impacts. This is also a chance for the company: By making conventional products more sustainable, it meets the needs of the consumers who are paying more attention to these aspects. The REWE Group has therefore developed the PRO PLANET label for the more sustainable private label products of REWE, PENNY and toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany as a guidance, which thus also promotes more conscious consumption.

Principles

The PRO PLANET label is applicable in principle to all of the REWE Group’s private label products sold in Germany. On the occasion of its 10th anniversary in 2020, the REWE Group redesigned the label and further developed the label-awarding process.

REWE, PENNY and toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany use the PRO PLANET label to mark private label products that are produced in a more socially and ecologically sustainable manner or meet higher animal welfare standards. Therefore, the PRO PLANET label serves as a guide to more sustainability when shopping.

Strategic Approach

The PRO PLANET commitment follows a holistic approach to improving sustainability in the supply chain of the REWE Group's private label products. The private labels sold at REWE and PENNY as well as at toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany were developed following a so-called Due Diligence approach. This management approach is based on an OECD guideline that was developed to help companies establish responsible agricultural supply chains (see Management Approach Green Products). As part of a risk analysis, key topics and objectives have been derived. The sustainability aspects obtained in this way are integrated into the purchasing processes, there is a systematic cooperation with suppliers as well as a continuous exchange with relevant stakeholders. This diverse and strategic sustainability commitment of the REWE Group forms the basis for PRO PLANET, the awarding of the label (see Awarding Process) and the cooperation with the Sustainability Advisory Board.

Responsibility and Resources

The Sustainability Advisory Board guides the entire PRO PLANET process as a stakeholder panel. Independent experts and representatives of non-governmental organisations define measures and standards for the improvement of a product’s sustainability. These form the basis for the approval to use the PRO PLANET label. Each member of the Advisory Board has been assigned responsibility for a specific topic (see Stakeholder Dialogue). In addition, the REWE Group involves external partners with the project specific expertise during the label-awarding process, if required. On the part of the REWE Group, the Sustainability Officers of the Sustainable Goods Department, the Corporate Responsibility Department and toom Baumarkt DIY stores as well as the Purchasing Department of REWE, PENNY and toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany are involved in the process (see section Awarding Process).

Implementation

The Sustainability Advisory Board grants approval to use the PRO PLANET label. The label is awarded in three steps:

1. Analysis and strategy check:

The responsible Sustainability Department at the REWE Group and the Sustainability Advisory Board investigate and analyse issues and challenges in different product groups and their supply chains. The analyses are then summarised and processed. The responsible officers of the REWE Group discuss the results in an internal workshop and derive measures from them. These are presented to the Advisory Board. Together, a shortlist of measures is agreed upon.

2. Ascertainment of measures and PRO PLANET requirements:

The measures developed in the first step are concretised by the Sustainability Advisory Board, the sustainability officers of the respective product ranges and the purchasing department of the corresponding sales line. Depending on the challenges in the supply chain, they can include different activities – from the purchase of certified raw materials, the creation of (raw material) guidelines and the definition of objectives to the implementation of own projects (e.g. a biodiversity project in domestic fruit and vegetable cultivation or training programmes for smallholder cooperatives in Brazil).

When purchasing certified raw materials, the Sustainability Advisory Board checks in detail whether the criteria of the respective standard (e.g. Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, Naturland or EU organic) address the most important ecological and social problems. In addition, a proposal for measures or objectives to be implemented by the REWE Group will be developed so that product groups or products may be awarded the PRO PLANET label. The results are presented to the Sustainability Advisory Board and the measures or objectives can then be adopted in a strategy and budget process at the REWE Group.

3. Implementation of measures and approval by the Sustainability Advisory Board:

The responsible sustainability officers at the REWE Group prepare a binding project plan, including milestones and targets, for the agreed measures and requirements. On this basis, the Sustainability Advisory Board makes a final decision as to whether the agreed measures and requirements are sufficient for product groups or products to be awarded a PRO PLANET label. Product groups or products that meet the final agreed requirements may bear the PRO PLANET label for a limited period of time.

In cooperation with the REWE Group, the Advisory Board develops, evaluates and implements many sustainability-related measures for the REWE and PENNY sales lines in Germany. In addition to the work within the PRO PLANET process, this also includes the continuing development of the Sustainability Strategy, for example through involvement in the creation and updating of the guidelines.

The PRO PLANET label also puts the focus on the earth – visually. The measures often address challenges from several topic areas depending on the problems that arise for humans, animals and the environment in the production of the private label products. The sustainability contribution below the globe always describes the most important contribution for the respective product or product group. Further information can be found on the website pro-planet.info. In addition to products with the newly designed label, there are still some products with the old label.

Involvement of Stakeholders

PRO PLANET stands for the goal of making the product range more sustainable and promoting sustainable consumption among a broader range of consumers – topics that were also classified as relevant by the stakeholders in the Materiality Analysis. They are informed annually about the effectiveness of measures taken via the Sustainability Report and in various dialogue formats (see Stakeholder Dialogue). This exchange allows stakeholders to provide important input on the issue.

Customers as well as other stakeholders can submit their complaints or comments regarding PRO PLANET products through established reporting and grievance mechanisms. For more information, please refer to the Compliance section.

The PRO PLANET products have continued to develop positively in the individual product groups, and their number in Germany has increased. After the share of PRO PLANET products in the purchase volume of private label products at REWE and PENNY in Germany remained the same in the previous year due to the Covid pandemic, an increase to 12 per cent was achieved in the reporting year. This is partly due to the updating of data, but also to an increase in PRO PLANET products.

At toom Baumarkt DIY stores, the number as well as the share of PRO PLANET products in the purchase volume of private label products decreased by 22 products or 2 per cent in the reporting year. This is due to the fact that the quantity of private label products increased significantly in the reporting year, which reduced the share of PRO PLANET products.