Different environmental impacts occur along the entire value chain, starting with manufacture and continuing to a product's distribution, sale in the store and use by the consumer. As a trade and retail company, METRO GROUP assumes environmental responsibility, especially in those areas where it can directly influence and control procedures and processes. This is particularly the case in its own locations. Good stewardship of resources like fossil fuels, but also of paper and packaging materials, is a key focus of the Group-wide environmental management system.

Resource protection means climate protection. too: by sparingly using the finite fossil fuels of oil, gas and coal in its own stores and in product logistics, METRO GROUP avoids greenhouse-gas emissions and reduces the impact on the environment. Given the constant rise in energy prices, METRO GROUP's actions also make sound economic sense. cbi:///cms/64712

Sensitising employees and training them to use energy sparingly and wisely is a major component of METRO GROUP's energy management. A further component is the use of energy-efficient technologies. In this area, the company primarily focuses on optimising work processes and modernising technology - particularly the type that can be implemented Group-wide without major building modifications. This includes retrofitting stores' refrigerated display cases with slide covers. In the majority of the company's new buildings, innovative technologies such as the use of waste heat and state-of-the-art lighting concepts are employed. Furthermore, the company is testing the use of renewable energies like photovoltaics, solar heat or geothermal energy in pilot projects. In order to be able to control the successes of this energy management even more effectively, the sales divisions are increasingly using state-of-the-art smart metering systems.

In the area of distribution and logistics, METRO GROUP collaborates with its suppliers to ensure better capacity utilisation of lorries and avoid empty runs. For its own fleet of lorries, METRO GROUP is reducing environmental impacts by employing the latest technology and training drivers in fuel-saving driving techniques. The company is expanding the transport of goods by ship or rail wherever it makes environmental and economic sense.

Moreover, METRO GROUP is also contributing to resource protection by consuming paper sparingly and using products with a high proportion of recycled fibres for its marketing materials. Finally, METRO GROUP follows the principles of sustainable recycling management with its efficient waste management system. For years now, the company has been able to boast above-average results in Germany for its avoidance, separation and reuse of packaging, used consumer goods and food waste. Subject to the respective local infrastructure, METRO GROUP also passes on this expertise as part of its expansion into other countries. cbi:///cms/72759