REWE Group

Responsible actions in the interest of the community are integral to the corporate culture of the co-operatively organised REWE Group. As part of the sustainability strategy, four themes are of utmost importance: the active sustainable product range design and the promotion of the consumption of more sustainable products; resource and climate protection; employee satisfaction and engagement and the taking on of societal responsibility.

The REWE Group is convinced that quality is defined not just by the primary characteristics of the goods, but also by ecological and social aspects. The protection of biological diversity is a significant component of the ecological quality of products. In this context, the REWE Group sees a great opportunity to develop new product and project ideas by addressing the topic of ‘biodiversity’.

The company purchases raw materials certified according to biodiversity criteria and standards such as Organic, Rainforest Alliance, or Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). It offers beneficial insect-friendly plants at REWE and toom Baumarkt DIY stores that provide pollen and nectar for honeybees, bumblebees, wild bees and butterflies and reduces the pesticide level of fruit and vegetables, as well as plants at toom Baumarkt DIY stores and does not use products containing glyphosate.

To conserve natural resources and protect and promote biodiversity along the supply chains, the REWE Group also engages in projects that create spaces for biodiversityand restore damaged ecosystems. Since 2021, it has been cooperating with its partner NABU in the project ‘Gemeinsam Boden gut machen’ (Making Good Ground Together), supporting farmers in transitioning to organic farming. With the NABU Climate Fund, the company has been supporting the rewetting of peatlands in Germany since 2022 – as a habitat for numerous animal and plant species and as a carbon sink. In a cross-divisional biodiversity project in collaboration with NABU, the Bodensee Stiftung and the Stiftung Rheinische Kulturlandschaft, the company increases biological diversity in conventional fruit and vegetable farms with participating farmers – for example, by establishing flowering areas.

In the travel and tourism sector, biodiversity is also essential, as only an intact environment, cultural diversity, and social stability provide the foundation for sustainable tourism.

By signing the Leadership Declaration and joining Biodiversity in Good Company, the REWE Group aims to strengthen communication on the topic of biodiversity towards employees, politcians, media, end consumers, and other stakeholders. Additionally, the REWE Group is a founding member of the association ‘Food for Biodiversity’, the first industry-wide alliance aiming to embed the protection of biological diversity within the food sector along the upstream value chains.