Together Achieving More – For More Environmental and Social Compatibility

Cologne/Mainz, 06.09.10

Joschka Fischer is committing himself on behalf of the REWE Group and is giving the starting signal for a campaign week for sustainability throughout Germany from 13 - 18 September

With a campaign week for sustainability throughout Germany from 13 to 18 September 2010 REWE Group is presenting to the public its commitment to sustainability. "Through this campaign we are providing the public with more transparency regarding our broad-reaching effort on behalf of the environment and the conservation of resources, for the promotion of green products and assuming responsibility for employees and society" explained Alain Caparros, CEO of the Management Board at the Cologne-based trading and travel and tourism group. The prime focus of the campaign week is the topics "environmentally and socially compatible consumption" and the introduction of the new REWE Group sustainability label PRO PLANET for the company's private label products. In many stores and travel agencies as well as the head offices of the group in Germany and Austria information and campaigns are being used to draw attention to its commitment to sustainability.

The general issue being addressed by the campaign week for more environmental and social compatibility is the new PRO PLANET sustainability label for private label products. "With PRO PLANET we want to provide orientation help for our customers", explained Manfred Esser, Management Board member in charge of Strategic Purchasing at REWE Group and responsible for sustainability, within the framework of  a press conference at REWE's second Green Building in Mainz. Since the start with strawberries, which was the first PRO PLANET product to be introduced at REWE in past April, around 80 further products have been added to the portfolio in REWE's supermarkets, toom hypermarkets, PENNY discount stores and toom DIY stores – including tomatoes, apples, textiles, bread and baked goods as well as paper products. Such private label products of REWE Group are marked with the PRO PLANET label, which impose a considerably lower burden on people and the environment through their production, processing or use and therefore have tangible positive ecological and social impacts. During the campaign week REWE and PENNY tasting sessions will give customers an opportunity to directly try and test these products in the supermarkets.

About three years ago REWE Group was one of the first trading companies in Europe to firmly anchor the issue of sustainability in its corporate philosophy under the guiding principle of "Together for a better life". "For us sustainability is not just a trend but rather an important element of our corporate strategy", explained Alain Caparros. He added that the company recognised its responsibility for society and the environment. To achieve this, the company's own sustainability strategy was built on four pillars, which form the focus of all activities during the campaign week for sustainability: "green products", "energy, climate and environment", "employees" and "social commitment". 

The beginning of the campaign week is marked by the REWE campaign "Doing good together – skipping for a good purpose". For each person who skips for one minute on Saturday, 11 September, between 2 or 3 pm or who skips for one minute in one of the approximately 3,300 REWE supermarkets in Germany, REWE donates 50 cents to the charity organisation "A Heart for Children". At the same time REWE also wants to use this campaign to encourage its customers to engage in more physical activities within the framework of the commitment to "healthy food and exercise". Between 13 and 18 September consumers have numerous opportunities to experience for themselves what sustainability means in practice in the trading and travel and tourism company. Amongst other things on Tuesday and Wednesday of the campaign week REWE wants to offer vitamin buckets filled with fruit for only five euros and in this way provide an impulse for balanced, healthy nutrition. In addition to the brochure "Mampf (Munch)", with exercise and nutrition tips for children, during the campaign week REWE will keep a free piece of fruit in the supermarket for every child on Monday and Thursday. PRO PLANET and REWE organic products can be tried out at the tasting stands in the supermarkets. Finally during the entire campaign week REWE is offering ten percent discount on the latter products.

With special offers in leaflets and on posters PENNY plans to attract people's attention to sustainable products: REWE Group’s discounter has listed more than 40 products marked with the sustainability label PRO PLANET - from tomatoes as well as paper and hygienic articles right through to textiles. PENNY will advertise these articles separately and present them in 2,400 PENNY supermarkets throughout Germany. At tasting stands in up to 300 stores organised by trainees PENNY customers will be able to test the organic and PRO PLANET products before buying them. Finally during the campaign week there will be a competition with attractive prizes, such as electric cars or motorscooters and bicycles.

At toom DIY stores the sustainability activities during the campaign week focus on energy consulting services. During this time toom DIY stores will provide energy consulting services in selected branches in cooperation with suppliers and the German Federation of Chimney Sweepers. This will include tips on energy saving, water conservation, rain water processing, thermography and solar energy, which toom DIY store customers will be given in around 160 toom DIY stores throughout Germany during the campaign week. 

Information pillars in the DIY stores provide background data on the company's sustainability activities. As a contribution towards the healthy nutrition of its customers toom DIY stores are  giving 300,000 apples to people visiting the stores during the campaign week for sustainability. In addition to further measures, within the framework of REWE Group's social commitment, toom DIY stores are staging a pilot project involving energy saving projects in selected schools in cooperation with the University of Cologne. This is aimed at introducing young people at an early stage to ways of responsibly dealing with natural and limited resources. 

Under the motto "Energy saving with ProMarkt" the consumer electronics division of REWE Group is focusing on the conservation of resources during the campaign week. In the area of the sustainability pillar "Green products" ProMarkt is increasingly offering energy saving products as well as accessories for saving electricity. Posters in the supermarkets provide information on the projects that ProMarkt itself has implemented in the areas "energy, climate and environment". To visually enhance the campaign week from 13 to 18 September all electronic screens in every ProMarkt branch will light up in deep green. In specially built energy saving corners energy consultants will show ProMarkt customers the right way to use household and consumer electronics equipment.
And the B2B units of the REWE Group have also planned activities on the topic of sustainability. For instance, during the campaign week Fegro/Selgros Cash&Carry is in particular offering its major customers FSC-certified tropical wood, cotton from controlled organic farming, Fairtrade products and "Faire Milch" (fair milk). Apart from this, the Fegro/Selgros customers will be actively informed about energy efficiency management and many other environmentally-friendly activities of the Cash&Carry supermarkets of the REWE Group, such as roof greening, the use of alternative cooling agents, rain water utilisation or rain water retention. 

In the meantime during the campaign week REWE-Foodservice is starting an offensive for sustainable products involving diverse suppliers. REWE-Foodservice has also developed a menu for its commercial customers, which will only contain sustainable products during the campaign week. On Friday, 17 September 2010, REWE-Foodservice will urge its employees not to travel to work in their own cars, but to instead form commuter driving pools or to come by bus/railway, by bicycle or on foot. This is aimed at reducing CO2 emissions on this campaign day by a total of five tonnes. For every kilometre travelled by environmentally-friendly means of transport the company will donate ten cents for the REWE Group project "Together for Haiti", which is dedicated to rebuilding a school in Port-au-Prince which was destroyed by the earthquake at the beginning of 2010. 

The travel and tourism branch of REWE Group developed a sustainable aid programme for preschool children in Sri Lanka following the Tsunami disaster in 2004. In cooperation with a local partner within the framework of the Piyawara project eight preschools were built, each to accommodate 100 children, and teaching material and school clothing was provided. Futhermore, teaching seminars and an information campaign for parents was financed for parents, so that they are able to respond better to the psychological situation of their children. Within the framework of the sustainability week the company's own travel agencies donate one euro per booking to the Piyawara project. In the DER and Atlas Reisen travel agencies customers are told about the campaign through window dressing and information material.

REWE Touristik also informs travel agencies and customers with brochures on environmental and sustainability issues – from climate protection and UNESCO world heritage topics right through to the conservation of coral reefs. In Egypt in particular the destruction of the coral reefs by tourists and pleasure boats is a big problem. Therefore for the sustainability week REWE Touristik informs all guests who are travelling to Egypt with the brochure "Corals – tips and information on the stars of the seas". Furthermore, all guests of REWE Touristik, who receive their travel documents in the sustainability week are given the opportunity of taking part in a competition on the topic of corals.

During the campaign week on sustainability, in addition to many other campaigns, for all visitors to the head offices of the REWE Group apples are available for people to take with them from the reception. Employees in the head offices can enjoy a sustainable lunch in the canteens. For this purpose REWE Group has prepared its chefs in advance through a four-day training course on topics such as organic food and the procurement of sustainable products. Furthermore, all employees are to be made aware of the issue of energy saving through posters and films. Finally all employees are given the opportunity of showing the company REWE Group to their children. At lunchtime special children's menus will be offered in the casinos of the head offices.

You will find additional, up-to-date press releases on the sustainability week of the REWE Group at "Press Releases".

With sales of more than 50 billion euros and 330,000 employees, the REWE Group is one of the leading trade and tourism groups in Germany and Europe. The company, that was established more than 80 years ago, is present in 16 countries with more than 15,000 stores. The sales lines include supermarkets and hypermarkets, such as REWE, toom and BILLA, the discount store PENNY, the toom DIY stores and the electronics store ProMarkt. The travel and tourism division comprises the tour operators ITS, JAHN REISEN and TJAEREBORG as well as DERTOUR, MEIER’S WELTREISEN and ADAC REISEN, and about 2,500 travel agencies.  

Contact

REWE GROUP-Corporate Communications
Tel.: 0221 - 149-1050
E-Mail: presse(at)rewe-group.com

Contact