Dear reader,

We herewith publish the first comprehensive Corporate Responsibility Report of the new METRO. At the same time, we look back on an eventful year in which we intensified our commitment to sustainability, successfully continued existing activities and launched new initiatives

We used the new beginning of our company to sharpen our sustainability approach METRO Sustainable and to interlink it even more closely with our group strategy. In our areas of responsibility Empower People, Secure Planet, Unfold Prosperity and Enhance Partnership we contribute through numerous activities to making trade more sustainable along the value chain. This is because we are aware that we can only secure the core of our business and that of our customers in the long term if we treat resources with respect, protect our planet and assume responsibility together with our partners along the entire value chain.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact form our framework for action.

In the past financial year, however, we made important progress not only in strategic terms, but also at operational level for instance with our customer solutions against food waste and plastic waste. As these are critical challenges for the business success of our customers we center these at the core of our doing. That said, we are particularly proud of the fact that our commitment to sustainability and the search for solutions to pressing social challenges has long since ceased to be the preserve of just a few. Our sustainability community is growing: in 2018 we celebrated our 4th Sustainability Day by and for employees in almost all countries in which METRO operates. Events such as our Food4Future Summit as well as our established METRO Sustainable Leadership Program are platforms for lively dialogue – also with customers and partners.

This once again shows that our business thrives on the people who work for and with us – as does our commitment to sustainability. The fact that we have taken the right direction on this common path is also confirmed by external sources: in 2018, METRO AG was awarded for the fourth consecutive time as best in its industry in the internationally renowned Dow Jones Sustainability Index World as well as in the European comparative ranking.

In the year under review, we again conducted a materiality analysis in order to determine which topics we will continue to focus on in the future in the interests of our stakeholders. For the first time, we also quantified in monetary terms the economic, ecological and social effects of the activities along the value chain of our wholesale business. The results are not only a valuable basis and a benchmark for our actions, they also make clear that sustainability is a necessity and an important lever to make our core business and that of our customers successful and fit for the future. With "METRO Sustainable inside" we are making sustainability a matter of course – and at the same time something quite extraordinary.

We are on the move. This is more than just a challenge – it is a great opportunity!

Let us inspire you!

The Management Board of METRO AG