Cologne. REWE Group joined the EU Code of Conduct for Responsible Business and Marketing Practices
today (5 July). In this context, the Group also released its new climate strategy in the most recently published online Sustainability Report for 2020: REWE Group wants to achieve climate neutrality at the company level by 2040. Using consistent measures aimed at reduction and prevention, the Group additionally intends to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 compared with 2019. This applies to all countries, in which the trade and tourism group actively operates in Europe.
Lionel Souque, CEO of REWE Group: Our commitment to the EU Code of Conduct, coupled with an ambitious new climate reduction goal, also represents a clear commitment to an effective and measurable sustainability strategy. As an international company, we have the responsibility and particularly the innovativeness and dedication to tackle environmental and social problems and to develop solutions. We already embarked on this path of becoming an increasingly sustainable company – full of conviction and responsibility – around 15 years ago. That is why we are well aware: Sustainable business practices are part of an ongoing process, which constantly presents new challenges. As REWE Group, we once again further specified our own cli-mate target: We reached the target of cutting our greenhouse gas emissions per square metre of sales area in half by 2022 ahead of schedule. The climate neutrality at the company level by 2040, in connection with the ambitious reduction target for 2030, represents another important next step towards making our contribution to the Paris climate agreement.
With the new commitment, REWE Group is consistently pursuing its climate measures at the EU level as well: The Group already expressed its commitment as a charter member of the Retailers’ Environmental Action Programme (REAP) in 2009.
Thanks to the nationwide transition across all markets, administration sites, warehouses and travel agencies to certified green power stemming from renewable energies such as water, wind and solar and consistent energy management, REWE Group was able to achieve a 53.6 per cent reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions in Germany and Austria per square metre of sales area and thus by more than half by 2020 compared with 2006.
Furthermore, in 2019, REWE and PENNY in Germany also undertook to reduce greenhouse gas emissions along the downstream value chain of its store brand products by the end of 2030, with an absolute reduction target of 15 per cent compared with 2019.
About the REWE Group Sustainability Report:
With the annual online Sustainability Report in accordance with the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards, REWE Group has been documenting its commitment to sustainability since 2009 with its four strategic pillars of the sustainability strategy: “Green Products”, “Energy, Climate and the Environment”, “Employees” and “Social Involvement”. In 2019, REWE Group was awarded first place in an independent cross-industry company ranking compiled by the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW).
