Secure Planet

Carbon footprintClimate Action

Greenhouse gas emissions in t CO₂ (CO₂ equivalents)

Definition: Level of all main emissions by Scope in line with the methodology of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

The following sources of emissions are included:

• Scope 1 = fuel oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), refrigerant losses from commercial cooling, refrigerant losses from air-conditioning, fuel consumption of company cars and the group’s own logistics fleet, emergency power generators
• Scope 2 = electricity consumption, district heating and cooling
• Scope 3 = external logistics for the transport of goods to our stores and warehouses, in-house paper consumption for advertising and office purposes, business trips, goods and services purchased for own use, capital assets, upstream chain emissions and grid losses for all direct and indirect energy sources, waste, employee commutes, leased assets

Explanation about the Carbon Footprint, especially about methodology, reporting boundaries and climate protection target are available at https://www.metroag.de/en/company/responsibility/business-operations.

Status of climate protection targetClimate Action

Greenhouse gas emissions in kg CO₂ (CO₂ equivalents) per m² selling and delivery space

METRO

Scope 1 & 2
Scope 3
Total

Germany

Total

Definition: Greenhouse gas emissions from METRO’s stores, back offices and warehouses (by selling space and space used for delivery operations) included within the climate protection target. Included are the emissions from electricity, heating and cooling energy consumption, also counting upstream chains and grid losses, refrigerant emissions from commercial cooling and air-conditioning, fuel consumption by company cars, in-house paper consumption for advertising material and office purposes as well as business trips.

Explanation: We aim to reduce our specific greenhouse gas emissions by 50% between 2011 and 2030. In concrete terms, this means that we want to cut our emissions per square metres of selling and delivery space from 376 to 188 kg of CO₂ equivalents per annum.

The significant decline in emissions compared with the reference year 2011 can essentially be attributed to 2 factors:

• Measures to reduce consumption relating to energy, company cars, paper and business travel, and to reduce emissions caused by refrigerant loss
• General technical and scientific developments as reflected by the adjustment of the emission factors used to calculate CO₂ equivalents. Above all in electricity generation, the emissions factor in many countries is declining due to the increased share of renewable energies.

In financial year 2018/19, METRO expanded the climate target to the supply chain and as the first German retailer set a recognised Science Based Target for itself. METRO AG undertakes to reduce its Scope-1- and Scope-2-CO₂ emissions by 60% per square metre sales and delivery area by 2030 compared to 2011. Our goal is thus in line with the reductions required to keep global warming well below 2 °C.

Furthermore, METRO AG is committed to reducing absolute Scope-3-CO₂ emissions (supply chain) by 15% by 2030 compared to 2018. Scope-3 emissions account for more than 90% of our total carbon footprint. In the below explanatory graph the size of blocks reflects the share within our carbon footprint.

Science Based Target – Bridge

 

Trends in the emission sources
included in the climate protection targetClimate Action

Greenhouse gas emissions in kg CO₂ (CO₂ equivalents) per m² selling and delivery space

Definition: Trends in CO₂ emissions per square metre from all the emission sources included in the climate protection target compared to the reference year 2011.

Energy consumption KPIsAffordable and Clean EnergyClimate Action

Total energy consumption (in MWh)

Definition: Energy consumption for operating the locations and for transportation broken down into the different types of energy used. Fuel includes fuel oil, combustion fuel, natural gas and liquefied natural gas.

Electricity, heating and cooling energy consumption (in kWh per m² of selling and delivery space)

METRO

Germany

Heating Electricity Cooling

Definition: Locations’ energy consumption in relation to the space used for sales and delivery operations. Energy consumption consists of electricity consumption and heating and cooling energy consumption (fuel oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), emergency power generators and district heating/cooling).

Target: At our METRO Wholesale sales line, we defined a target to reduce energy consumption by 2030 by 35% with a base year 2011. We reduced electricity consumption in our stores by 3.4% in year-on-year comparison in the past financial year and thus clearly exceeded our target of 2.2%.

WaterClean Water and SanitationLife below Water

Water withdrawal and wastewater generated (in l per m² of selling and delivery space)

METRO

Germany

Definition: Water withdrawal by the locations in relation to the space used for sales and delivery operations.

Explanation: In absolute terms, METRO drew 3.9 million m³ of fresh water in the reporting period. At the warehouses, stores and back offices, water is primarily used for cleaning and sanitary facilities. In addition to this, water may be used for storing, transporting and selling food, for example for keeping live fish or making ice to chill fresh fish.

On group level, we measure and monitor the amount of water which the company draws from the public drinking water supply. The public drinking water supply is the only source from which we draw significant amounts of water.

We also measure and monitor the total amount of wastewater we generate at the group level. As our locations do not consume a significant amount of water, our calculations are based on the assumption that the volume of wastewater is the same as the amount of fresh water. All wastewater is fed into public sewers. We do not monitor the quality of the wastewater ourselves as this is not relevant given the usage described above.

Target: At METRO Wholesale the goal was set to save 5% of water by 2025 compared to the base year 2016/17. In 2019, we were able to reduce the consumption in our stores of METRO Wholesale by 6% calculated per square metre of net operating area compared to the previous year.

WasteResponsible Consumption and ProductionClimate ActionLife on Land

Amount of waste and recycling rate (in kg per m² of selling and delivery space and in %)

METRO

Germany

Amount of waste Recycling rate

Definition: Waste generated in relation to the space used for sales and delivery operations. The recycling rate is calculated as the amount of waste destined for recycling, heat recovery and composting in relation to the amount of total waste.

Explanation: The volume of waste in absolute terms, 229,451 t, marks a reduction from the previous year. This can be broken down as follows:

• Waste for composting (10,314 t)
• Waste for heat recovery (24,158 t)
• Waste for landfill (41,561 t)
• Waste for recycling (138,112 t)
• Waste for special waste treatment, such as hazardous waste (12,965 t)
• Waste for unknown disposal (2,340 t)

When we calculate the recycling rate, we do not take hazardous waste into account because we cannot systematically record the way in which it is treated (recycled or disposed of) in all of the countries in which we operate. However, based on information from several countries, most of the hazardous waste is also recycled. In reality, the recycling rate is therefore higher.

Food waste reductionZero HungerResponsible Consumption and ProductionClimate Action

Food waste reduction target 2025

Definition: The reduction of food waste is an issue of particular importance to the operations of METRO. Every food product that is rejected or discarded instead of being eaten represents wasted economic, social and environmental resources. METRO has therefore committed itself to the Resolution on Food Waste by the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) and thus to eliminate 50% of wasted food in our own operations by the year 2025 compared to 2016. Therefore, the ‘Food Loss and Waste Protocol’ was successfully implemented in Turkey in financial year 2017/18, and other countries are currently being discussed. In 22 countries we cooperate with food service organisations and social institutions in order to avoid food waste in the stores, including our restaurants and warehouses. In addition, 6 of these countries cooperate with Too Good To Go.

Find out more on the achievements of our country organisations.

Sustainable productsZero HungerResponsible Consumption and ProductionClimate ActionLife below WaterLife on Land

Packaging

Own Brand Packaging target 2023

Definition: The target from Oct 1st, 2018 consists of 3 parts:

• obtain FSC^® or PEFC certification for all card, paper and wood content in primary, secondary and tertiary packaging,
• stop using expanded polystyrene (EPS) in all packaging areas (primary, secondary and tertiary) and
• save 300 tonnes of plastic overall.

Target achievements for 2018/19 were not yet available on the publication date.

Achievement: Review and, where appropriate, reworking of the packaging of more than 18,000 own-brand products concerning their environmental impact.

Palm oil

Volume of RSPO certified palm oil own brands

Definition: Target is to achieve 100% of products containing palm oil being Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified products by 2020.

Sales of more sustainable products

Sales of products certified as organic in line with EU regulations

Number of sustainably fished or farmed products (MSC, ASC, GlobalG.A.P., EU organic logo)

Definition: Target is to have 80% of the turnover of our TOP 12 fish and seafood species (own brand and branded) certified by 2020.

Sales of sustainably fished or farmed products (MSC, ASC, GlobalG.A.P., EU organic logo)

Definition: Target is to have 80% of the turnover of our TOP 12 fish and seafood species (own brand and branded) certified by 2020.

Sales of products from sustainable forestry (FSC^® or PEFC label)

Definition: Target is to achieve 100% of SKU’s containing more than 50% of wood being FSC,PEFC certified and from recycled material by 2020.