Embedding sustainability

Sustainability means more to us than concentrating on ecological and social issues: sustainability is a question of attitude and a way of working. It drives what we do and is an integral part of our corporate strategy.

We embed sustainability aspects in relevant business processes and decision paths – for instance via guidelines, like the guideline for sustainable sourcing – and involve our employees, for example through our Sustainability Day and through information on our social network platform. Our goal is for individuals to be able to recognise the significance of sustainability for themselves and for their work environment so that they can steer their own actions accordingly. METRO can drive the topic from the top, but every one of our more than 150,000 employees needs to internalise it, so that they can help us achieve an impact in the area of sustainability.

Our company has various measures and tools available for advancing the sustainability embedding process:

• Approaches to responsible company management and acting with integrity, including our sustainability approach, our Guiding Principles, our Code of Conduct and our corporate governance and compliance structures
• Principles, commitments and positions which offer guidance for people’s actions and ensure both compliance with laws and adherence to standards that exceed these guidelines. One example is our overarching Policy for Human Rights. We are committed to complying with internationally recognised human rights – not just within our own operations, but also along our entire value chain.
• Guidelines such as the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact and the Sustainable Development Goals
• Linking the remuneration paid to the Management Board and the global senior management with the assessment of the sustainability performance of METRO in the rating of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)
• Definition of group-wide sustainability-related targets within our areas of responsibility
• METRO Sustainable Leadership Programme for management development
• Memberships in associations and initiatives as well as committee work; the most important memberships are listed here
• Collaboration and dialogue with decision-makers in politics and society