REWE Group Reduces CO2 Emissions by 30,000 Tonnes Per Year

Cologne, 15.03.07

Biogas used to generate electricity for 7,000 three-family households / Further measures also

The REWE Group is declaring war on the climate's no. 1 enemy, CO2. Every year, the company saves some 30,000 tonnes of CO2, by having its foodstuff waste disposed of in biogas plants. There, in a carbon dioxide neutral environment, energy-rich biogas is produced for electricity generation. The quantity is sufficient to supply electricity to 7,000 three-family households for a year. In the medium-term, the company plans to reduce its emissions of the gas responsible for the greenhouse effect by 50,000 tonnes in this way alone.

"An important aspect of modern corporate management is increasing efficiency and profitability. For the REWE Group, however, success also includes sustainable behaviour and the acceptance of social responsibility. Everyone can and must do something to protect the environment, so that we can leave a world worth living in to our children and grandchildren. As one of the leading commercial enterprises in Europe, we are taking on this challenge, and not just in Germany", Alain Caparros, CEO of the REWE Group, said today (15 March) at the International Trade Conference in Cologne. He feels that environmental protection must become a top German export. According to Caparros, "the successful retailer of tomorrow will continue to be defined by issues surrounding sustainability".

The Group's environmental protection activities also focus on the chill cabinets in the Group's some 6,000 stores (REWE, Penny, toom) throughout Germany. The REWE Group has for years been systematically replacing the environmentally-hazardous refrigerants with environmentally-friendlier alternatives. The company is conducting trials with new, even less harmful refrigerants such as ammonia, to an extent far beyond merely satisfying the statutory legislation.

In addition, the REWE markets are already using the exhaust heat from the refrigeration systems to heat their stores and for other purposes. The REWE Group is thus reducing the energy requirements of the individual stores by about one third. Since 2006, the discounter Penny has invested some € 3.5 million into simply fitting their refrigerator units with doors: the improved cooling power reduces the electricity consumption by up to 20 per cent.

In the area of logistics, some 60 per cent of our vehicle fleet of around 600 trucks run on biodiesel. The drivers are even trained in how they can drive in a more foresighted and thus energy-saving manner. As a result, fuel savings of up to five per cent are possible in the long-term. Within the framework of the structural reform of the REWE Group, the route plans have, in particular, been optimised in order to reduce the yearly mileage of our fleet and that of our commissioned hauliers. The capacity ratio of the trucks has since been in excess of 90 per cent.

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

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