Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 2 strives to stop world hunger, achieve better nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.

The REWE Group also aims to strengthen human and environmental rights as part of its Declaration of Principles and Guideline on Fairness as a binding framework for action. In order to combat hunger in supply chains, the company is committed into stabilising the livelihoods of smallholders at the purchasing, cultivation and production levels and providing them with planning security, for example through purchase guarantees. Furthermore, approaches to securing living wages and incomes are to be tested in pilot projects by REWE and PENNY in Germany until the end of 2025 and, if successful, scaled up in pilot projects. Women in particular should also be supported along the global value chains – for example with the “Café Mujer“ project (coffee projects for women), in which the Arabica beans from organic cultivation for the REWE Bio Caffè Crema pads are grown exclusively by women from the Fairtrade-certified cooperative “Valle de Ubiriki” in Peru. REWE and PENNY in Germany guarantee the complete purchase of the annual production at the Fairtrade minimum price, and the farmers also receive workshops for further qualification. In cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development as well as the Fairtrade organisation, REWE and PENNY in Germany were one of the first food retailer in Germany to start a project for living wages in the cocoa sector: At the Fanteakwa cooperative in Ghana, cocoa farmers receive Fairtrade premiums and minimum prices, plus a monetary premium based on the Fairtrade reference price for a living wage. As part of this project, "VERY FAIR" chocolate bars are sold at REWE and PENNY in Germany.

In order to promote sustainable agriculture, the REWE Group is constantly expanding its organic product ranges at the purchasing level in its retail sales lines and formulates comprehensive requirements for suppliers and farms for its organic private labels, which in many cases exceeds legal requirements of the EU Organic Regulations. In addition, the company cooperates with standards and seals, in Germany for example with Naturland and Demeter. The REWE Group also aims to reduce the use of pesticides at the level of cultivation and production, including for conventional fruit and vegetables. To this end, the Group has, for example, drawn up a negative list for REWE and PENNY in Germany, whose active ingredients may not be used in production. In addition, the REWE and PENNY business units in Germany and the REWE Group in Austria are involved in projects to preserve biodiversity (see SDG 15).

On the value chain of the stores, sales and consumption level, the REWE Group aims to promote a more conscious nutrition. To this end, the company is raising awareness of this issue among consumers in Germany, for example through campaigns with its REWE and PENNY sales lines. Children and young people are introduced to a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercises and a balanced diet in various workshops at daycare centres and sports clubs, and school classes are provided with healthy food. In addition, the company provides transparent information about the nutritional values of its products - since 2020, the REWE Group has also been using Nutri-Score labelling for this purpose at REWE and PENNY in Germany. Moreover, the company is adapting the product range and recipes in its private labels by reducing sugar, salt, fat or saturated fats. Furthermore, REWE and PENNY in particular are committed to the food waste topic in Germany. As members of the "National Food Waste Dialogue Forum," at the end of June – and thus, outside the reporting period - the two sales divisions committed to reduce food waste by 50 per cent by 2030. Therefore, REWE and PENNY provide the 950 local food banks across Germany with food which can no longer be sold but which is still very much edible. They also cooperate with the Foodsharing e. V. association. This likewise applies to the REWE Group in Austria.

The United Nations‘ fifth goal aims to end all forms of discrimination and exploitation against women and girls all over the world and to ensure that they have equal rights to and access to land, property and financial services.

In its Declaration of Principles, the REWE Group commits to strengthening human rights and preventing human rights violations, and has created a binding framework for action to this end with the Guideline on Fairness. In order to specify its requirements for the protection of women and girls, the company published the updated Guideline on Women in the Supply Chain in 2021 for the REWE Group private labels that are sold by REWE, PENNY, BILLA, MERKUR, BIPA, ADEG and toom Baumarkt DIY stores. It includes goals and measures to strengthen women’s rights along global value chains and to promote their economic independence and participation.

As an internationally operating company, the REWE Group is able to contribute to SDG 5 primarily on the value chain purchasing as well as in cultivation and production level. For example, the REWE Group relies on certified raw materials whose standards, such as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance or Cotton made in Africa, set requirements for the equal treatment and protection of women. The same is requested in social audits, such as the amfori BSCI, which all production sites in the first supply chain level from defined risk countries must demonstrate. In addition, the company promotes the economic independence and participation of women through measures and projects, particularly with its REWE sales division in Germany. For example, managers at strategic production sites are trained on topics such as wages and working hours or ethical recruitment, and cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast are supported to increase their income and improve the living conditions of their families.

With regards to Gender Equality, the REWE Group is also able to contribute to the fifth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal at the store level and thus within its own company. In accordance with its Guideline on Sustainable Business Practices , the REWE Group does not tolerate discrimination in employment and occupation on grounds such as gender. This principle applies to the hiring of new employees, to employees in existing employment relationships, and to business partners. In addition, at the beginning of 2016, the REWE Group signed the Diversity Charter, a voluntary commitment by the business community to diversity management, and aims to achieve a balanced gender ratio in all executive positions. As part of projects, the Group‘s business sectors strengthen women with management responsibilities and ensure equal pay for work of equal value, largely through collective agreements.

The goal of SDG 7 is for all people to have access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and timely energy. In addition, the share of renewable energies in the global energy mix is to be significantly increased and the rate of increase in energy efficiency doubled.

In line with the goals of SDG 7, the REWE Group already switched to green electricity at the value chain levels of warehousing and logistics as well as stores and sales at the beginning of 2008 for the purchase of electricity for stores, warehouses and travel agencies in Germany and Austria, thus contributing to the expansion of renewable energies. In 2021, the Group was the first food retailer in Germany to conclude a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) for REWE, PENNY, toom Baumarkt DIY stores and DER Touristik in Germany - a ten-year electricity supply contract with green electricity from offshore wind farms in the North Sea from 2025. The company also saves energy for all units through an effective, certified energy management system and the optimisation of logistics. Due to the gas shortage in the reporting year, the REWE Group reduced gas, oil and electricity consumption for heating by 15 to 30 per cent at all locations for the winter, depending on the location and possibilities. With its Green Building concept, the Group has been pursuing a holistic sustainability approach for its sites since 2009. Here, the REWE Group also contributes to the expansion of the charging infrastructure for electromobility and equips the parking lots of new stores built according to this Green Building concept in Germany, Austria and the CEE countries with an electric charging station. REWE Group is pursuing the goal of establishing one of the largest and most modern fast charging station networks in Germany and aims to install up to 2,000 fast charging stations at least 400 selected REWE-owned properties and additional REWE and PENNY rental properties in Germany by the end of 2024. During the same period, up to 4,000 additional charging stations are to be installed at existing rental properties as well as new buildings. The use of renewable energies and the consistent conservation of energy are essential components in achieving the company‘s climate targets: Climate neutrality by 2040 and, as a first step, a 30 per cent reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions from the 2019 baseline, see SDG 13. In addition, the company decided in the reporting year to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) with REWE and PENNY in Germany and to develop new science-based targets for these business units and their supply chains in line with the 1.5 degrees target.

The goal of SDG 8 is continuous, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

As an international operating company, the REWE Group is able to contribute to SDG 8 primarily at the value chain purchasing as well as cultivation and production level. In its Declaration of Principles , the Group is committed to strengthening human and environmental rights and preventing them from being violated, minimising them and taking remedial action. In addition, a process for dealing with risks in the company‘s own business area and within the supply chains was defined as the basis for the REWE Group‘s holistic and continuous risk management with regard to human rights and environmental due diligence. This is already integrated for the purchase of REWE and PENNY as well as toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany starting in 2023. Components of the process include, in particular, risk analysis in the company‘s own business area and in the supply chains, as well as the grievance mechanism: The REWE Group has implemented a grievance procedure that allows employees and other potentially affected groups to report violations of human and environmental rights at any time.

In its Guideline on Sustainable Business Practices, the REWE Group defines the prohibition of forced labour and exploitative child labour as well as fair treatment of employees as decisive for all business relationships with contractual partners. In addition, as part of the Supplier Code of Conduct which was also updated in 2022, the company obligates its suppliers not to violate human rights-related obligations and to ensure this in their own business areas. A comprehensive risk management system has been established with a view to the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.

In its Guideline on Fairness, the REWE Group also describes how it intends to strengthen human rights and improve working conditions within the supply chains of all private label products of REWE, PENNY and toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany – the focus is on the issues of child and forced labour, living wages and income, and women in the supply chain.

By 2030, all strategic suppliers of REWE, PENNY and toom Baumarkt DIY stores private labels in Germany are to participate in training programmes to specifically reduce negative impacts along the supply chain. In addition, a grievance mechanism system for relevant supply chains is to be established by 2025. The REWE Group is also committed to sustainable and fair cooperation locally through its REWE sales division in Germany: The "REWE Local Partnership" promotes local suppliers and producers and defines a binding cooperation.

At the warehouse and logistics level as well as at the store level, the REWE Group as an employer offers its employees, among other things, flexible working time models for work-life balance, company health management and shows great commitment to training and development. Staff representatives as elected committee representatives of the works councils or supervisory boards are involved in almost all decisions of the REWE Group.

This SDG aims to achieve the necessary changes in lifestyles and economic practices. It refers both to individual consumption and to the transformation of the value chain patterns that underlie production. Circular economy and sustainable supply chains are just as relevant as the avoidance or responsible disposal of waste and the reduction of food waste.

Large parts of the REWE Group‘s commitment contribute to the achievement of SDG 12. This is based on the principles and guidelines defined by the company that address environmental aspects and social concerns along its supply chains.

An important contribution at the value chain of purchasing as well as cultivation and production for more sustainable agricultural production is the promotion of organic and regional private label products as well as products where the REWE Group achieves social and ecological improvements in the supply chains as well as animal welfare aspects. In doing so, the company relies on internationally recognised certification standards, collaborates with the industry in initiatives and sets up its own projects. In addition, the conscious use of resources at this level of the value chain is reflected in the way the company deals with the topic of circular economy, which it sees as a significant approach to preserving resources and protecting the environment and climate, and in which packaging in particular plays an essential role. Here, the strategic approach is "Avoid, Reduce, Improve". By the end of 2025, for example, 20 per cent less plastic is to be used in the sales and service packaging of REWE and PENNY private labels in Germany and, where the use of plastic is unavoidable, the plastic should be recyclable. In 2021, the REWE Group has also developed a circular economy strategy for the private labels sold at REWE, PENNY and toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany in order to actively reduce resource consumption in the value chain of its products and make a positive contribution to environmental and climate protection. To this end, processes are being further developed and product innovations created in order to reduce resource requirements and production waste in the manufacture of consumer goods, for example by reducing the use of materials. The relevant sales divisions also examine the possibility of reusable alternatives for disposable products; recycling potential in their own material flows is also continuously investigated.

The REWE Group also makes a positive contribution to the achievement of SDG 12 at the value chain level of stores and sales as well as consumption. As a member of the "National Dialogue Forum on Food Waste", the REWE Group, in particular with its REWE and PENNY sales lines in Germany, as well as the REWE Group in Austria , signal their efforts to contribute to the sub-target SDG 12.3 of reducing food waste by 50 per cent by 2030. At the end of June 2023, and thus, outside the reporting period, the business units committed to this as part of a target agreement with the Dialogue Forum, as well as to other targets, for example with regard to employee training or regulations on dealing with excess quantities and returns. In order to enable the stores to be supplied with fresh goods as needed and to reduce food waste, modern forecasting systems and automated ordering processes are used - supported by the commercial experience of the employees. The REWE Group also raises awareness among its customers about food waste through campaigns. REWE and PENNY in Germany work together with more than 950 local food banks as well as the Foodsharing e. V. association; the same applies to the REWE Group in Austria.

Since 2010, the company has also been using the PRO PLANET label to show consumers which products are produced in a more socially and environmentally sustainable manner or meet higher animal welfare standards.

This United Nations Sustainable Development Goal aims to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius and achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by mid-century.

At the level of warehouses and logistics as well as stores and sales, the REWE Group has been balancing its greenhouse gas emissions since 2006. In 2021, the climate strategy was updated and extended to all countries and companies in which the company operates. The goal is climate neutrality at corporate level by 2040 - and a 30 per cent reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2019. To achieve these goals, the company is focusing on more climate-friendly refrigerants, fossil fuel savings including district heating, green electricity, modern and energy-efficient stores, and alternative drives. In addition, the REWE Group decided in the reporting year to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) with REWE and PENNY in Germany and to develop new science-based targets for these business units and their supply chains in line with the 1.5 degrees target. Registering with the initiative will take until autumn 2023.

With this project, the REWE Group is able to make its product ranges more climate-friendly - also with regard to the value chain purchasing as well as cultivation and production level. Currently, REWE and PENNY in Germany aim to achieve an absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 15 per cent in their supply chains by the end of 2030 compared to 2019. By the end of 2024, climate targets in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative are to be agreed with 100 per cent of the strategic suppliers, who are responsible for a total of 75 per cent of the product-related emissions. The principle of "Avoid before Reduce before Compensate" applies to all measures taken to implement the strategy. For example, the supply chains of REWE and PENNY in Germany are to become deforestation-free in the areas of wood/paper, palm oil and soy animal feed by the end of 2025. The Group is also making its private label ranges at REWE and PENNY in Germany more climate-friendly and positioning itself as a driver and market leader within the industry with innovative solutions, for example with purely plant-based private labels. The REWE Group is also committed to climate protection in projects: For example, the REWE sales division in Germany has been contributing at least five million euros annually to the NABU Climate Fund since 2022 and for five years. Its purpose is to support measures for the rewetting of peat soils degraded by agriculture and peat cutting. This is because peatlands - when wet - store a quarter of terrestrial carbon, even though they occupy only three per cent of the global land area. For this purpose, with a focus on Germany and the EU in the Baltic Sea region, on the one hand heavily drained peatlands are purchased or leased on a long-term basis, and on the other hand agricultural enterprises are supported in the conversion from conventional farming methods to climate-friendly wet meadow management.

This SDG aims to significantly reduce pollution of the oceans and seas. Included in this are the reduction of acidification, sustainable management of coastal ecosystems and fish stocks.

The REWE Group is aware of the impacts in the area of water that occur along the supply chains of its private labels, which are sold at REWE, PENNY and toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany. The Group has summarised its measures and targets with a view to reducing water consumption and water pollution in the Guideline on Water Protection in the Supply Chain published in 2020.

In its implementation, it works with certification systems such as Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, Cotton made in Africa or Naturland at the level of purchasing as well as production and cultivation. These require producers to use water resources sustainably in their processes. In addition, the REWE and PENNY sales divisions in Germany, as well as toom Baumarkt DIY stores, are working continuously to resolve identified hot spots: For example, a Detox program for private label clothing, footwear and home textiles is designed to specifically reduce the contamination of water by chemicals. The company also intends to completely eliminate harmful microplastics in the cosmetics products of its private labels at REWE and PENNY in Germany - and to extend this waiver to other product groups as well.

In the Guideline on Fish and Seafood REWE and PENNY in Germany also impose transparency requirements on their suppliers - in the sense of sustainable use of the resource sea and sustainable fishing. The goal here is to source 100 per cent certified private label items (MSC, GLOBALG.A.P., ASC, organic certification) in the frozen, convenience, fresh and canned food segments.

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, manage forests sustainably, combat desertification, halt and reverse soil degradation, and halt biodiversity loss - these are the targets of SDG 15.

In order to protect and promote biodiversity, the REWE Group relies on standard systems such as organic, Fairtrade or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®), which take into account the preservation of biodiversity, when designing more sustainable product ranges at the value chain purchasing level. The company and its respective divisions are committed to environmentally sound and socially responsible forest management. For example, the REWE and PENNY sales lines as well as toom Baumarkt DIY stores in Germany have set themselves the goal of making their supply chains in the areas of wood/paper, palm oil and soy animal feed deforestation-free by the end of 2025. To this end, the REWE Group is increasingly sourcing wood and paper for products and packaging for its REWE and PENNY sales lines in Germany from sustainably managed sources that are certified in accordance with sustainability standards. In order to protect peatlands as important CO₂ reservoirs, a switch to peat-free soils is to be made for all private labels and branded products by 2025. With the aim of restoring peatlands, the REWE Group is also participating in the newly established NABU Climate Fund for five years from 2022 through the REWE sales division in Germany with five million euros annually. Its purpose is to support measures for the rewetting of peat soils degraded by agriculture and peat cutting. In this way, not only is the release of large quantities of greenhouse gases countered (see SDG 13), but habitat is also recovered for many animal and plant species that have become rare, such as the snipe, the moor frog or sundew - and thus an important contribution is made to the preservation of biodiversity.

At the level of cultivation and production, the REWE Group is also involved in cooperations and projects together with numerous farmers and partners such as the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) and the Lake Constance Foundation. Since 2010, the PRO PLANET project has been working with farmers and conservationists to improve biodiversity on conventional fruit and vegetable farms - initially focusing on apple and pear orchards, and since 2016 also on other fruit and vegetable crops. By 2025, the company aims to convert all relevant regional free-range fruit and vegetable products of its private labels to biodiversity-friendly cultivation. Since March 2021, REWE Group has also been a founding member of the "Food for Biodiversity" association, which works to develop a uniform biodiversity standard in the food industry.