METRO SUSTAINABLE

Our society is more exposed than ever to economic, environmental, social and cultural challenges. Similarly, we experience every day that sustainability is the key to transforming these challenges into opportunities.

It is our vision to make wholesale more sustainable along the value chain in our work with small and medium-sized independent suppliers and customers in contact with consumers. By reconciling our business imperative and goals with the needs of nature, people and future generations, we can act responsibly, remain successful in the long term and overcome the conventional limits of growth. Through information, inspiration, motivation and support from our employees, customers and partners, this visionary approach has the potential to reach millions of people.

METRO SUSTAINABLE – Our contribution to sustainable development

As a partner for independent businesses along the entire value chain, we thus do more for business-passionate people – in a responsible way. This reflects the core of our business and means that, for our sustainability approach, we not only practice METRO SUSTAINABLE in our own business, but also support our customers in making their businesses more sustainable through sustainable value creation. We strengthen local communities and call for more conscious nutrition. As an innovation driver for sustainable solutions, we contribute to a sustainability movement. For example, by using the digital solution of Too Good To Go in our stores as well as offering it to our customers, we reduce food waste on different levels in our value chain. This is how we achieve our goal of becoming part of an ecosystem analogous to nature through METRO SUSTAINABLE and making an impact for increased sustainability.

To ensure that our sustainability approach addresses the aspects and issues that most affect our business and that we can leverage through our business activities, we conducted a materiality analysis in the course of financial year 2017/18 in accordance with the requirements of the CSR Directive Implementation Act. Assessment of the facts was based on the legally required materiality definition. The aspects and issues identified in the analysis are the content of this NFS and comply with the requirements of the CSR Directive Implementation Act for the reporting of non-financial content. The results of this materiality analysis were confirmed in financial year 2018/19 by our customer survey conducted in 23 countries with a focus on sustainability and in a 1-day sustainability strategy workshop with the participation of the Management Board of METRO AG, other senior management positions and other expert functions of the entire METRO group. With our focus on the food sector, we emphasise on 3 main topics:

1. We want to make our range of products and services more sustainable by positively influencing the availability, quality and wholesomeness as well as the social and environmental safety of food.
2. We promote more conscious consumption, including the use of a diverse range of proteins.
3. By pooling our partnership strengths, we are fighting against food waste.

For us, this means improving our ‘foodprint’ while minimising our ecological and social footprint by treating people and resources responsibly and creating positive effects for society as a whole. Not only through the discourse with internal and external stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers and business partners, local communities, NGOs, political representatives, investors, competitors and committees do we know that further material issues, such as the protection of human rights, the use of more sustainable packaging and less conventional plastic, our actions to improve climate protection and responsible procurement as well as the pursuit of diversity and inclusion naturally remain within our responsibility.

The guiding principles for us are the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals also form the global action framework of our corporate strategy, which is shaped by the principle of sustainability. Along our areas of responsibility (Empower) People, (Secure) Planet, (Unfold) Prosperity and (Enhance) Partnerships, we support the SDGs, in particular the goals in which we are most directly involved: 2 (Zero Hunger), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 13 (Climate action) and 17 (Partnerships for the goals). Through the diversity of our activities and the interdependence between these projects and the SDGs, we contribute to the 17 goals of the global agenda with our commitment to sustainability. As a member of the UN Global Compact, we also incorporate the 10 principles of the UNGC into our work, strategy and corporate culture.

By taking these international initiatives into account, we highlight our actions as a responsible, global and locally active company. We consider ourselves to be a value-creating part of society and we contribute to achieving sustainable economic, social and environmental development.