Actively managing sustainability

In line with METRO AG’s strategy, sustainability is systematically and organisationally embedded in the core business. Sustainability management takes into account interdependencies between economic, environmental and social aspects in an efficient, solution-oriented manner. The Management Board of METRO AG is involved in the topics presented here and is regularly updated about their progress by the Sustainability Committee. Moreover, the remuneration of the Management Board for 2021/22 has been linked to the achievement of certain sustainability targets, including the reduction of CO₂ emissions and food waste. In the past, the long-term remuneration of senior management (below the Management Board) was linked to the rating of METRO’s sustainability performance in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) rating. For financial year 2022/23, the Supervisory Board has decided to adjust the remuneration system of the Management Board, which will be presented to the Annual General Meeting 2023. In this context, sustainability targets are supposed to be included in the long-term remuneration of the Management Board. The Management Board intends to also apply this revised system for the new tranches of the long-term remuneration for the senior management. As the highest sustainability body in the company, the Sustainability Committee provides the strategic framework and group-wide goals and facilitates the exchange of information on sustainability issues at the highest management level – sometimes also with external input from guest speakers. To adequately respond to the specific market and customer requirements, the METRO companies manage the operational implementation of overarching sustainable development goals within this framework. They are responsible for working on the relevant sustainability issues, for defining and implementing specific targets and measures and for monitoring their success. The committee is chaired by 2 representatives from the top management, who are regularly rotated. Other members of the committee are:

Wholesale stores getting greener

METRO aims to be climate-neutral in its own global operations by 2040. An insight into the measures in the wholesale stores – and on their roofs and car parks.

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Our stakeholders evaluate all sustainability measures implemented, for example through ratings. These assessments by independent third parties show us progress and potential for improvement in our actions and are thus an important motivation and management tool for us.

Institutional Shareholder Services – Environmental, Social, Governance (ISS ESG) already awarded the prime status C+ (on a scale from D- to A+) to METRO in April 2020 to recognise them as a leader in the industry sector. The next assessment is expected in 2023. In financial year 2020/21, we were once again listed in the Food & Staples Retailing group in the internationally important Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World and Europe. In 2022, METRO was also once again listed in the FTSE4Good Index. New annual results at the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) were last published in December 2021¹. METRO scored an A- (F to A scale) in CDP climate protection after an A rating in 2020. In addition, METRO was also assessed by CDP in the Water Protection and Forests categories. In the Water Security category, METRO was able to maintain its B rating. The rating was also maintained in 3 out of 4 assessed categories involving forests: C in cattle, B in palm oil and B- in soya. In the Paper category, METRO was rated B after a B- rating in the previous year. Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc. (MSCI) gave METRO an AA rating (scale CCC to AAA). Morningstar Sustainalytics ranks METRO’s risk as low in the risk assessment with a value of 17.6 (scale 0 to 40+), which puts the company in 26^th place out of 194 companies within the analysed sector. METRO has been listed as a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index (GEI) since 2022.

When oyster farming meets sustainability

The Geay family, oystercatchers in La Tremblade since 1874, not only has a profound appreciation for oysters, but also deeply cares about ground-breaking and sustainable farming.

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