Our approach is to significantly reduce the climate-relevant emissions caused by our business operations and resulting from our supply chain as well as to decrease our consumption of natural resources. We do this by focusing on behavioural change (Energy Awareness Programme) and investment aimed at increasing our energy and resource efficiency. We also operate a global energy management system that identifies potential savings in our stores and monitors our overall savings targets. In financial year 2023/24, electricity consumption in our METRO/MAKRO stores, delivery and administrative locations per square metre of selling, delivery and office space2 decreased by 4.4% in comparison to the previous year. Examples of measures in the overall area of environmental matters in the reporting period:
- As part of the Energy Saving Programme, we invested €12.6 million in energy-efficient lighting and building equipment. This will likely save us approximately €3.9 million in energy costs annually.
- We invest in energy-efficient cooling systems with natural refrigerants within the framework of the F-Gas Exit Programme. This reduces our emissions from loss of refrigerants as well as energy requirements and costs. We invested a total of €81.6 million for this purpose in the reporting period.
- In the reporting period, 8 further photovoltaic plants were installed in Germany, Austria, Turkey and Slovakia, among other countries, with a total additional capacity of 22,122 kWp.
- Additional charging stations for electric vehicles of METRO customers were set up at wholesale stores in Germany, Spain and Italy, among other locations. In Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Turkey, Romania and Hungary, all METRO wholesale stores are now equipped with charging stations. We now have a total of 1,391 charging locations. In Germany (METRO and R Express), more than 520 employees already use electric vehicles as company cars, whose emissions are offset by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin. In total, 1,187 company cars are powered by electricity or hydrogen, which is about 12% of our total vehicle fleet. We have integrated electric trucks into our own delivery fleet, for instance in France, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic and Portugal, for the FSD delivery business.
- Water consumption in our METRO/MAKRO stores, delivery and administrative locations decreased by 5.2% compared to the previous year. By 2030, specific water consumption in our own business operations is expected to be reduced by 10% per square metre of net operating area compared to the base year 2020/21.
- Other key topics in relation to resource-efficient business operations are the prevention of waste and the recovery and recycling of waste materials.
- Compared to the previous year, the volume of waste (excluding food waste) increased by 5.0%.
METRO uses an internal CO2 price of €50 per tonne of CO2, mainly to approve energy-efficient projects with lower financial savings. METRO is a member of the Task Force on Carbon Pricing in Europe, which aims to put a price on all relevant carbon emissions and thus achieve market- and competition-based decarbonisation.
Reduction of food waste
Food waste3 is a large-scale squandering of resources and makes a major contribution to our CO2 emissions. As a wholesaler with a clear focus on food, we bear a great responsibility in this context.
In line with the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) resolution on food waste, we are committed to reducing food waste in our operations (per square metre of sales and delivery area) by 50% by 2025 compared to the baseline year 2017/18. In 2023/24, we achieved a reduction of 26.9% in relation to the square metres of selling and delivery space compared to the baseline year.
Our aspiration is to measure, monitor and report progress in line with the requirements of the Food Loss & Waste (FLW) Protocol. We are addressing the problem of food waste by adopting a 3-pillar strategy from the producer to the consumer: (1) data optimisation, (2) solutions, (3) commitment and partnerships.
Key initiatives are helping us achieve our goal:
- In 25 countries and service units, we work with food bank organisations to pass on unsold food to those in need.
- In the Netherlands and Austria, we are working with Too Good To Go (TGTG) to accomplish this goal. In financial year 2023/24, the dedicated collaboration has ‘saved’ 107,745 meals, which corresponds to a reduction of 290.9 tonnes of CO2. Moreover, we are promoting the TGTG platform in 2 countries as a solution to help our customers save food in their operations.
- METRO is a member of the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) ‘10x20x30’ initiative, which calls on the world’s 10 largest grocery store chains to commit at least 20 of their suppliers to cutting their food waste in half by 2030. METRO AG has integrated suppliers through its operating national subsidiary METRO Turkey.
- We work with various technical solutions to reduce food waste, depending on availability and demand. In Turkey, we use Fazla (formerly Whole Surplus) to analyse food waste hotspots and disposal routes.
- In addition, we were able to improve the quality of the data and the data collection process – both by means of a simplified user interface and by establishing automated control mechanisms in our IT system. We also carried out intensive training courses and individual measures, including revised training documents for the data collectors.
Climate protection target 2040
We plan to make our global business operations climate-neutral by 2040, largely through our own initiatives. With the 51.9% savings of CO2 emissions per square metre of selling and delivery space we have achieved so far compared to the baseline year 2011, we are on the right track. From October 2023 to September 2024, METRO generated 185.7 kg of CO2 equivalents4 per square metre of selling, delivery and office space. This compares to 224.4 kg5 in the same period last year.
In 2019, METRO expanded the climate target to the supply chain and as the first German wholesale company set a recognised science-based target for itself. In it, METRO AG undertakes to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2 emissions by 60% per square metre of selling and delivery space by 2030 compared to 2011. A reduction of 49.1% has been achieved in this area since 2011. Furthermore, METRO AG is committed to reducing absolute Scope 3 CO2 emissions6 (supply chain) by 15% by 2030 compared to 2018. Our goals for Scope 1 and Scope 2 are thus in line with the reductions required to keep global warming well below 2°C by 2100 compared to pre-industrial levels. Since METRO submitted SBTI targets as early as in 2019, they are currently being revised. This process takes account of the new provisions of the CSRD.
Packaging and plastics
Plastic is one of the most used materials for packaging food and non-food products, and the improper disposal of plastic waste has a negative impact on the ecosystem and the earth. METRO is taking responsibility and attempting to limit plastic pollution and to improve the environmental footprint of its own-brand packaging. To this end, we support the recovery of resources through recycling and strive to reduce the environmental impact throughout a product’s life cycle, including by seeking alternatives to traditional plastics.
In doing so, we focus on the METRO/MAKRO national subsidiaries as well as our central purchasing companies. This approach contributes to mitigating the risk of future depletion of natural resources and a loss of biodiversity. To reduce the amount of plastic used and to increase the use of alternative sustainable materials, we work with various stakeholders on the development of corresponding solutions.
A team of packaging specialists from METRO AG and a project team from various METRO national subsidiaries and from central purchasing companies are working on the following targets to be achieved by 2030:
- Initiative for reducing plastic:
Our goal is to eliminate 10,000 tonnes of plastic in the plastic packaging used for our own brands. - Increase in share of recycled components:
Our goal is to achieve a 30% share of recycled plastic in the packaging used for our own brands. - Elimination of substances of concern:
We are committed to fully eliminating polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) at all levels of our own-brand packaging. - Recyclability of packaging:
We are aiming to make 100% of the packaging used for our own brands recyclable, reusable or compostable at home. - Paper, cardboard and wood commitment:
We are aiming to use materials certified under the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)/Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes or a share of at least 70% of recycled materials for all paper, cardboard, boxes and wood used in primary and secondary packaging for our own brands.
We are unable to guarantee plastic-free or recycled, compostable or reusable plastic packaging for the brands that do not belong to METRO. In future, we will place greater emphasis on reducing plastic packaging for our own brands, as this approach has the largest direct influence on the reduction of our ecological footprint with regard to packaging. In the reporting period, METRO successfully implemented the METRO Cash & Carry Own Brand Packaging Commitment for all of its own brands in the METRO/MAKRO national subsidiaries, using joint procurement sources and international trading offices. Looking forward, all data on packaging and plastics will be recorded regularly in a standardised system. These data will be prepared for external reporting and disclosed in the next reporting period. An exception to this is the target of replacing conventional disposable plastic products with reusable, recyclable or compostable alternatives by the end of 2025. We plan to carry out internal controls regularly to monitor progress, with the aim of supporting target achievement.
The own brand sales share is one of the core key figures that METRO uses to measure and verify the implementation status of the sCore strategy. It shows the share of own brand sales in total sales (based on the merchandise management system) excluding the segment Others.
1 For some key figures with regard to climate and CO2, as well as for the key figures related to electricity consumption, water consumption and waste volume, extrapolations and estimates are necessary for the consumption data if only partial primary data are available. Sustainability data management compiles the data from the various reporting systems and will lower the share of estimates continuously. For the key figures in the chapter on environmental matters, there may be variances from the consolidation group in financial reporting for reasons such as data availability.
2 The square metres of selling and delivery space are year-end figures (30/9/2024) for all environmental key figures.
3 Food waste is food intended for human consumption, including inedible parts of this food, that is removed from the food supply chain for recycling or disposal. Food supplements and food donations are not included in the food waste indicator. According to the WRAP standard, the former do not fall into the category of food intended for human consumption and are therefore not recognised as food waste.
4 The calculation of CO2 emissions corresponds to the logic of the GHG protocol. METRO mainly uses emission factors from DEFRA, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
5 The previous year’s figure was adjusted due to updated data availability.
6 The calculation of Scope 3 CO2 emissions is based on recognised extrapolation methods in order to approximate the emissions generated within the supply chain.