Stakeholder Dialogue

In the dialogue forum held in a hybrid format in April 2022, the focus was on global warming and species extinction as the two greatest current environmental crises. Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Climate Researcher and Director Emeritus of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, called in his keynote speech to 150 invited guests and a further 300 online guests for much greater determination in tackling climate protection. Chief Executive Officer of the REWE Group Lionel Souque affirmed the importance of the topic. REWE assumes responsibility in this respect and supports the NABU climate fund for the rewetting of peatlands (see the following section “Strategic partnership with NABU”) in the amount of 25 million euros in total until 2025.

In 2015, the REWE Group entered into a strategic partnership with NABU, intensifying the cooperation that has existed since 2009. As part of this effort, the joint project work being conducted in the area of biodiversity and PRO PLANET was expanded and an agreement was reached to collaborate on such issues as protection of the seas, packaging, conservation of resources and the fostering of biodiversity.

In working groups and strategy workshops, NABU and the REWE Group developed roadmaps in order to jointly achieve the defined sustainability goals. An essential part of the partnership is the constructive and critical exchange at working level as well as at the level of the Executive Board and President of REWE Group and NABU. NABU is both an important catalyst for the further development of the sustainability strategy and a long-term partner in the implementation of projects.

In 2020, the REWE sales line joined the NABU project “Gemeinsam Boden gut machen” (Make up Ground Together) as a partner. The project provides support to farmers who intend to switch to organic farming or to expand their existing organic farm. Starting in early 2022, REWE will pay five million euros annually for five years into the newly established NABU climate fund. The fund purchases or leases former wetlands and wet meadows – with a focus on areas in Germany and the EU – that were dewatered or degraded in the past for the purpose of agriculture or peat extraction. The objective of the project is to re-irrigate these areas so that they can be restored to their original function as carbon sinks and habitats for many animal and plant species. In addition, farms will be assisted as they switch from conventional farming methods to a more climate-friendly wet-meadow management (for more information see section Biodiversity and Climate Protection in the Supply Chain).

The REWE Group is the first food retailer in Germany to establish a Competence Centre for Agriculture. Together with farmers, agricultural science experts, practitioners, individuals from the processing industry and the REWE Group, pioneering projects will be developed to help shape a sustainable transformation of German agriculture – away from the established structures and narrow confines of industry solutions. The new dialogue format will be coordinated by the Agriculture staff department created for this purpose in close cooperation with an internal steering committee made up of retailers and employees of the REWE Group in order to turn ideas into actual products. The establishment of the centre was communicated on 18 January 2023.

The REWE Group has also been a partner of the German Sustainability Award and Day since 2011. As part of this cooperation, to promote packaging ideas for the future, the Special Award for Packaging (Sonderpreis Verpackung) was initiated in 2019. The event was held for the 15th time in December 2022.

YouTopia is a live four-day multi-channel event where dedicated top influencers, with guests from the worlds of media, politics, science and culture, aim to draw attention to climate change, species and environmental protection and sustainability. The event was held for the third time in September 2022. Guests included Ricarda Lang (Federal Chairwoman of Die Grünen political party), Lars Klingbeil (Federal Chairman of the SPD political party), cabaret artist Eckart von Hirschhausen, presenter Jeannine Michaelsen and author Laura Karasek. In the panel discussions, topics such as organic farming and the protection of the wetlands, which are promoted by REWE in cooperation with NABU Germany, were discussed.

To foster the discussion about sustainability among the workforce, the REWE sales line created the REWE Employee Advisory Board on Sustainability in 2020. Employees representing the regions, stores and the (regional) head offices meet twice a year to promote various sustainability issues within the company. The board met for the fifth time in March 2023.

In autumn 2022, many employees from all sales lines took on the Climate Challenge. The challenge was: “Bet that we can collectively manage to save 20,000 kg of CO₂ equivalents?” They even managed to beat this target. By not using their cars, eating climate-friendly vegan food or turning off household appliances to save electricity, the participants managed to reduce their CO₂ emissions by 21,940 kg in total. Donations for the challenge totalled 1,097 euros, which the REWE Group rounded up to a donation of 1,500 euros. The amount was invested in the NABU climate fund, which promotes the rewetting of wetlands.

The active integration of independent REWE retailers also plays a special role: These individuals attend various coordination meetings. Their ideas and experience flow into the relevant decisions toom Baumarkt DIY stores has established Sustainability Ambassadors in its stores, ensuring that the issue is positioned and communicated appropriately throughout Germany. They play an important multiplier role and are also the central contact persons for employees in the stores with regard to sustainability.

toom Baumarkt DIY stores has established Sustainability Ambassadors in its stores, ensuring that the issue is positioned and communicated appropriately throughout Germany. They play an important multiplier role and are also the central contact persons for employees in the stores with regard to sustainability.

All employees of REWE and PENNY stores in Germany as well as staff of the REWE Group’s headquarters can learn about sustainability using an e-learning tool. The e-learning programme also provides employees in the stores and headquarters of toom Baumarkt DIY stores with information about the relevant sustainability issues based on the four sustainability pillars.

As part of the #umdenkbar (#rethinkable) campaign, which has been promoting all of REWE’s sustainability activities in Germany since mid-2022, (for more information see section Promoting Sustainable Consumption), the sales line provides its customers with an incentive to join in with protecting the climate and to make their individual contribution. If they buy a REWE Bio or REWE Beste Wahl product, a predefined amount is donated to the NABU climate fund.

The REWE Group in Austria supports the Citizen Science project “Schmetterlinge Österreichs” (Butterflies of Austria) via its cooperation with the Blooming Austria foundation It is one of the largest nature observation projects in the German-speaking world. To date, almost 24,000 volunteers have monitored, photographed and reported more than 730,000 butterflies. Apart from protecting areas of high environmental quality, raising awareness is an important part of Blooming Austria’s work. BILLA and REWE International ensure the initiative receives wide coverage by communicating regularly about it through their channels such as customer magazines, newsletters and social media. For more information see Biodiversity.