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Management
- Foreword by Lionel Souque
- REWE Group Portrait
- Structure Employees
- Supply Chain
- Risk Management
- Initiatives and Memberships
- Principles and Guidelines
- Compliance
- Sustainability Strategy
- Stakeholder Dialogue
- Reporting Profile
- Materiality Analysis
- Economic Performance
- Taxes
- Cooperation with Politics
- Data Protection
- Digital Responsibility
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Green Products
- Management Approach Green Products
- Product-Related Risk Analyses
- Regionalism
- Focus Raw Materials – Food
- Focus Raw Materials – Non-Food and Services
- Organic
- PRO PLANET
- Animal Welfare
- Nutrition
- Packaging
- Circular Economy
- Water
- Biodiversity
- Climate Protection in the Supply Chain
- Ecological Aspects in the Supply Chain
- Child and Forced Labour as well as Child Protection
- Social Aspects in the Supply Chain
- Living Wages and Incomes
- Women in the Supply Chain
- Customer Health and Product Safety
- Promoting Sustainable Consumption
- Food Waste
- Energy, Climate and the Environment
- Employees
- Social Commitment
Brief Overview:
The REWE Group aims to make its product ranges more sustainable by expanding regional products. The company
- endeavours to promote local value creation through the continuous expansion of regional products. In this way and with clear labelling of these regional products, it is implementing its commitment to regionalism;
- is committed to its local responsibility with the REWE Local Partnership Code of Conduct and creates the framework conditions to promote local economy.
GRI 204: Procurement Practices
Management Approach
Effect
The company is aware that it is the product range in particular that has an impact on the promotion of regionalism: The more regional products the REWE Group includes in its assortment, the more short transport routes and traceable value chains are promoted in terms of sustainability as well as the regional economy. At the same time, consumers are increasingly demanding more regional products. Positioning itself as a driver of regionalism therefore holds great opportunities for the REWE Group and is in line with the cooperative's mission statement of regional roots.
Positioning itself as a driver of regionalism therefore holds great opportunities for the REWE Group and is in line with the cooperative's mission statement of regional roots.
Principles
Thanks to its cooperative origins, the REWE Group is strongly rooted in all regions in which the company operates through its stores. As a reliable partner, the company maintains direct on par relationships with local farmers. The focus is particularly on the protection, preservation and promotion of local structures.
As a reliable partner, the company maintains direct on par relationships with local farmers.
With the REWE Local Partnership Code of Conduct, REWE in Germany is committed to its local responsibility and creates the framework conditions to promote local economy. In its Code of Conduct, REWE has defined common values and principles with local suppliers and producers in order to strengthen sustainable and fair cooperation and to create added value, be it through short delivery routes, value creation in rural areas or more animal welfare or environmental protection. The Code of Conduct includes the use of an independent ombudsperson who can be called upon in the event of disputes within the direct contractual relationships between REWE retailers and agricultural producers in Germany (see project The REWE Local Partnership – Commitment to Local Responsibility).
Localness means that the products mainly come from small suppliers or direct agricultural marketers who directly supply a regionally limited number of markets.
For the REWE Group, regional suppliers are those who produce an end product locally from raw materials from a specifically defined region and also sell it in this region. Traditional sales territories are part of the regionalism concept. However, small overlaps with immediately adjacent territories are possible. The regional window indicated on the packaging provides transparency. The regional product ranges feature a high proportion of fresh fruit and vegetables, which are offered in the stores depending on the season. In the eyes of consumers, they also stand for freshness, short transport routes, trustworthy production and support for the local economy.
Objective
The REWE Group aims to promote local value creation through the continuous expansion of regional products.
Responsibility and Resources
Implementation of strategies and measures on the topic of regionalism is the responsibility of dedicated teams and departments in the respective sales lines. In the REWE regions, local teams are responsible for all activities in their region and support local farmers, for example. For further information, please refer to Management Approach Green Products.
Implementation
The REWE Group implements its commitment to regionalism through a continuous expansion of regional product ranges and the clear labelling of regional products, especially for its REWE sales line in Germany. PENNY in Germany will start concrete implementation in 2023. Since 2010, the company has created a structure to support smaller suppliers in the certification processes and to make it easier for them to be listed in a REWE store via local representatives in the regions (see section Localness). In addition, the company regularly exchanges information with representatives of the agricultural sector. Furthermore, the promotion of regional products is implemented, e.g. in the purchase of fruit and vegetables.
The REWE Group implements its commitment to regionalism through a continuous expansion of regional product ranges and the clear labelling of regional products.
DER Touristik is also continuously expanding regional and seasonal products in its own hotel brands. In the reporting year, a share of 50 per cent was achieved in European destinations.
Involvement of Stakeholders
Regionalism falls under the topic of "Expanding the Range of Sustainable Products", which was rated as relevant for the company by the REWE Group's stakeholders. For many consumers it is now a matter of course that they want to know more about the origin of products. The regional origin of the products is particularly important to many customers (see Materiality Analysis).
Stakeholders 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, suppliers as well as other stakeholders can submit their grievances or comments. For this purpose, the REWE Group has established reporting and grievance mechanisms. For more information, please refer to the Compliance section.
GRI 204-1: Proportion of spending on local suppliers
Development of the Regional Product Range
The REWE Group has greatly expanded its regional product ranges in recent years based on its long-term relationships with regional suppliers as well as transparent and eye-catching communication of the special advantages of these products to consumers – for example through the REWE #Umdenkbar campaign. The REWE Group in Austria is the only food retailer in Austria to offer 100 per cent fresh meat from Austria at BILLA.
The nationwide REWE Regional brand for regional products introduced in 2012 ensures quick recognition. The region of origin is clearly indicated on the packaging – as a federal state, cultural region (e.g. Franconia) or traditional cultivation area (e.g. the Altes Land). Examples include sausages and eggs from North Rhine-Westphalia, apples from the Altes Land or the Spreewald gherkins. In the reporting period, the regional product range remained relatively constant despite an increase in the number of articles.
REWE Regional (Germany) incl. REWE Dortmund
Measures and Projects
The REWE Group is aware of its special responsibility towards agriculture in Germany and takes this into account with a series of long-term measures. These are presented transparently for the reporting period, sorted by the following topics:
Supporting Local Farmers
German Origin of Pork with “5D“
Highlight
By summer 2022, the REWE and PENNY sales lines in Germany will have converted around 95 per cent of the conventional private label fresh pork range to German origin. The REWE Group is thus giving pig farmers planning security and is sending an important signal in support of domestic agriculture with its commitment to "5D" for pork (born, raised, fattened, slaughtered and processed in Germany). Labelling has already been partially implemented for pork.
Exchange with farmers and stakeholders
The company is in close dialogue with farmers and develops ideas and measures together with them to promote agricultural structures, preserve biodiversity or market agricultural products. In addition, the REWE Group continuously exchanges information with various interest groups in German agriculture – from individual farmers to organised associations and federations. It is the company‘s concern to support domestic agriculture, to strengthen it in the long term and to offer reliable, secure prospects.
Labelling Regional Products
Information on origin and processing
In order to further strengthen regional products, the REWE Group has been active as a founding member of the Regionalfenster e. V. association since 2012 and has implemented the "Regionalfenster” (regional window) declaration field for selected items in German PENNY and REWE stores since 2014. The labelling provides consumers with verified information on the origin of the ingredients and the place of processing. In this way, the “Regionalfenster” (regional window) creates transparency and security for customers in addition to the private label-specific information. In addition to all REWE Regional products, the products include fruit and vegetables, juices, eggs, milk, meat and sausage as well as cheese, which often come from one or more suppliers per region.
REWE in Germany labels products with the REWE Regional private label if they are offered exclusively in the stores of the region from which they originate. Traditional sales territories are part of the regionalism concept. However, small overlaps with immediately adjacent territories are possible. Local products are also generally marketed under the communicative umbrella "From your region" (see also section Promotion of Local Suppliers with Local Representatives).
PENNY in Germany labels articles with the “Regionalfenster” (regional window) if they are produced in German and only seasonally available. In the case of regional fruit and vegetables, the sales line indicates the federal state or a cultivation area or "Genussregion" (region of enjoyment) such as "from the German Lake Constance region" as an additional indication of origin. Transparency about the origin of products is part of the promise of regionalism, of PENNY in Germany, which also includes a commitment to freshness through short transport routes and the promotion of local producers.
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| REWE | 802 | 879 | 990 |
| PENNY | 577 | 650 | 707 |
|
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Another regional concept has been implemented at the REWE Group in Austria since 2014 in the BILLA, BILLA PLUS and Sutterlüty stores under the slogan "Da komm ich her". The private label range includes seasonal and regional fresh fruit and vegetables as well as eggs and comprises 200 items, as in the previous year.
Regioal Concept “Da komm ich her” (Austria)
Under PENNY‘s private label “Ich bin Österreich“ (I am Austria) consumers are offered products that are prepared according to typical Austrian recipes ensuring that the ingredients are 100 per cent from Austria. By the end of 2022, the range compromises around 583 products (2021: 5022).
Regional Concept “Ich bin Österreich” (I am Austria) (Austria)
Localness
The REWE Local Partnership – Commitment to local responsibility
Highlight
In order to strengthen sustainable and fair cooperation with local agriculture in the long term, the REWE sales division in Germany has defined common values and principles and embedded them in the "REWE Local Partnership“. With the REWE “Local Partnerships”, the REWE Group supports and promotes the protection and preservation of regional and local producer structures, especially in the areas of fruit and vegetables, dairy products, meat and sausage. The document presents four topics that serve as a basis for the sales division‘s cooperation with local suppliers:
- Reliable contractual partners
- Good money for good work
- Use of shared networks
- Joint innovations – for the protection of animals and the environment
REWE in Germany is thus committed to local responsibility and offers a reliable orientation for cooperation with small and medium-sized farmers and producers in the direct vicinity of the stores. REWE‘s local partnerships with small and medium-sized local producers and farmers are being continuously expanded. For the practical implementation, the sales division relies on the "local representatives" in cooperation with retailers and store managers (see next project Promotion of Local Suppliers with Local Representatives). Together, they provide their local suppliers with versatile tools and support to exploit synergies and grow together in close, trusting cooperation.
Promotion of local suppliers with local representatives
Local articles are usually marketed in the German REWE stores under the communicative umbrella "From your region" and are accordingly placed and identified in the store. In order to further increase the number of locally produced products, REWE has created a structure with local representatives who deal with the local requirements of customers and suppliers. The local representatives establish contacts between REWE stores and local producers and suppliers and accompany the entire journey of local farmers‘ products from the field to the supermarket shelf. For example, they organise localness days where suppliers can present their goods. In the period under review, there were a total of 27 local representatives in the six REWE regions including REWE Dortmund (2021: 25). A successful example of promoting local suppliers is REWE‘s Landmarkt concept in the Region Mitte. Under this name, farms belonging to the Association of Direct Distributors in Hessen (VHD) sell their products throughout the state. At the end of 2022, 328 stores (2021: 324) carried over 3,000 Landmarkt articles (2021: 2900).
Landmarkt, Hessen (Germany)
Long-standing partnerships
Some of the independent REWE retailers maintain very long partnerships with local suppliers and farmers. In addition, individual retailers carry their own regional range. For example, consumers can find numerous products in the REWE Richrath stores in the Cologne area under the label "Wir aus der Region" (We come from the region).