METRO joins the 2021 CDP Supplier Engagement Leaderboard

Following the 2021 global score release of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), METRO has also been reviewed within the CDP Supplier Engagement Rating (SER). Only companies responding to the full version of the CDP climate change questionnaire are included in this review that aims at highlighting companies that most effectively engage suppliers in their climate change journey.

To this end CDP assesses each company’s performance on supplier engagement using their individual response to selected questions on governance, targets, scope 3 emissions, and value chain engagement in the CDP climate change questionnaire. The companies with the best SER are celebrated as Supplier Engagement Leaders – which this year is the top 8% of companies who disclosed to the full climate questionnaire, wholesale specialist METRO being one of them.

"In 2019 we were the first German company in the wholesale and retail sector to have an accredited Science Based Target based on our 2030 targets in all 3 scopes, including our goal to jointly work with our suppliers to reduce their emissions in the upstream value chain by 15%. The majority of CO₂-emissions in the food value chain origins in upstream processes, hence we have a clear responsibility to support and encourage our suppliers to act", said Veronika Pountcheva, Global Director Corporate Responsibility METRO AG, commenting on the leadership ranking.

Pountcheva: "In 2020 alone, we onboarded 120 of our suppliers to provide climate disclosures as part of the 'CDP Supply Chain Programme Climate', which records suppliers’ greenhouse gas emissions. For many of them this has been an eye-opening but also empowering process. On the one hand they gained a profound understanding for the greenhouse gas emissions they cause but on the other hand with that realization also comes the chance to sustainably change processes for the better."

"Our data shows that companies currently have blinkers on when it comes to assessing their indirect impacts and engaging with suppliers to reduce them. Companies must act urgently to cascade action and manage environmental impacts throughout their supply chains to scale the level of action to secure a 1.5°C future. Many congratulations to the 400+ companies earning a place on CDP's 2021 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard. As a Supplier Engagement Leader, METRO AG is a trailblazer driving the transition towards a sustainable net-zero future", said Sonya Bhonsle, Global Head of Value Chains & Regional Director Corporations, CDP.

Another example of working with suppliers is METRO’s engagement in the Forest Positive Coalition of the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF). As part of the roadmap of this coalition, METRO is actively involving suppliers of fish and seafood, meat, and products with palm and soy, in working towards zero deforestation supply chains, and in programmes that protect rainforests in Brazil and Indonesia.

METRO has committed to climate-neutrality in own operations until 2040, largely thanks to own efforts and planned investments of 1.5bn €. To this end, the international wholesale specialist is pushing ahead with an ambitious package of measures supported by investments in technology and innovation to achieve this. The core measures comprise:

• Energy saving
• Switching to natural refrigerants in cooling systems
• Phasing-out fossil heat
• Expansion of photovoltaic systems
• Electrification of the company car fleet
• Zero-emission model for new store construction.

METRO first set itself a climate-goal in 2015. In the base year 2011, the wholesaler’s specific CO2 emissions amounted to 376 kg. Until the end of fiscal year 2020/21 METRO achieved a reduction by 37.3% to 236 kg of CO2 per square metre of sales and delivery space – without offsetting.