Stakeholder relations

Not only external stakeholders such as customers, suppliers and business partners, NGOs, political representatives, investors, competitors and committees, but also internal stakeholder groups such as the employees of METRO place various demands on our company at the local and international levels. By taking part in economic and sociopolitical discourse and working with our stakeholder groups, we are in a position to identify their requirements concerning our activities early on, to address relevant issues, and continuously check the goals we are pursuing. The regular exchange with our stakeholders serves to strengthen trust in our company and at the same time, to increase the chances of our activities succeeding. . We can achieve many of our sustainability targets only in cooperation with partners from politics, science, society and industry, therefore we engage ourselves in several different industry initiatives. After all, the impact of our actions is greater if many stakeholders tackle social challenges jointly and systematically.

CGF Co-chair (photo)

We employ various dialogue activities and formats, including, for example, our multifaceted work with associations and with The Consumer Goods Forum, an international industry body currently co-chaired by Olaf Koch, Chairman of the Management Board of METRO AG. In addition, we are involved in ‘Climate-friendly supply chains’ and ‘Business-related climate protection targets’. These are working groups of Wirtschaft macht Klimaschutz (Business takes climate action), a cross-industry forum initiated by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). The aim of this forum is to connect German businesses via their climate protection measures and targets, so that, together, they can promote compliance with national and international objectives.

Additionally, we foster dialogue with our stakeholder groups through our membership in various initiatives. Among other things, METRO has committed itself to complying with their guidelines. These initiatives include:

  • UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • UN Global Compact
  • Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI)
  • Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)
  • Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
  • Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
  • International Labour Organization (ILO)
"Mittwochsgesellschaft" (photo)

METRO is also committed to dialogue with stakeholders in its own event formats: together with the German Retail Federation (HDE) and the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), METRO AG has organised the Berlin Wednesday Society of the Retail Industry several times a year since 2010. The goal is to bring people from politics, business and society together for them to exchange different viewpoints and learn from one another. Its equivalent at the European level are the Brussels Wednesday Socials, which the retail company launched in cooperation with EuroCommerce, the European umbrella organisation for retail and wholesale, and the association European Movement International (EMI).

We also cultivate dialogue on sustainability-related issues by discussing and answering enquiries from NGOs, rating agencies and investors.