Commitments, positions and targets

METRO’s approach to Conscious Proteins has three streams:

1. Sustainable sourcing: Conscious proteins must be sourced responsibly which includes following established practices determined by our existing policies and commitments on sustainable sourcing
2. Marketing and creating customer awareness: to create more awareness amongst our suppliers and our internal and external stakeholders, we will promote conscious proteins in a responsible way
3. Creating awareness of our customers: we will help our customers to understand what they can do to create plates with conscious proteins in the context of their locality and culture.

METRO aims to offer to our customers healthier own brand products globally (common sourced and sourced by country organisations) with less sugar, salt, and fats and/or completely or partially free from additives and/or organic certified and/or alternative protein-based by:

• 2021 a total of 1000 own brand products
• 2022 a total of 1250 own brand products
• 2023 a total of 1500 own brand products

Soy as an ingredient (Tier 1 soy) in products with over 95% soy ingredient. e.g.: edamame beans, miso soup, miso paste, soybean oil, soy nuts, soy sauce, tofu, and Soy in animal feed (Tier 2 soy) must be certified zero deforestation by end 2025 with certification scheme by:

• Round Table for Responsible Soy (RTRS Credits or RTRS Certified) or
• ProTerra certification scheme or
• Any of the other FEFAC  benchmarked soy certification schemes

Environmental:

• 100% of own brand products made from wood or wood fibre in accordance with the scope originate from legal and responsibly managed forests by 2023 

For assessing compliance the following shall apply:

• Products made from virgin fibre must be certified in accordance to one of the third-party forest certification schemes
  • FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or
  • PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes)
• Products made from recycled wood or fibre are considered to be sustainable for the purpose of this policy; acceptable certifications can be  ISO 14024:2018 type I label or local eco-label

The Policy was updated in November 2021. In the previous version, our target was 2020 or 2023 for challenging markets. However, most markets (apart from TR and KZ who achieved 100% rate) did not manage to achieve the target. Therefore, we have now revised the target to 100% for all countries to 2023. 

The Social Compliance target in the P&W Policy has also been reviewed and revised to 2030 to align with the overarching METRO AG target.

METRO aims to improve its assortment towards higher animal health and welfare standards by achieving the following targets by 2025:

• 100%Transparency of livestock origin (country of farm &slaughtering)
• 100% Exclusion of preventive usage of antibiotics and growth promotors
• 100% Exclusion of cloned animals or genetically modified animals
• 100% Exclusion of routine mutilation practice such as, castration, tail docking, teeth clipping, tooth clipping beak trimming, fin clipping
• 100% humanely stunning of animals prior to slaughtering
• Avoidance of long distance traveling wherever possible and keeping animal live transportation to a minimum

Cage Free Eggs targets have been revised in November 2021 and included in the relevant policy (see below)

METRO has set itself three fish and seafood targets:

Environmental:

90% of our top twelve species will by 2025 either:

• Be certified according to one of the accepted certification standards or
• Be engaged in a credible comprehensive Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) or in an Aquaculture Improvement Project (AIP) that is in progress towards certification and with the clear target to achieve certification within a reasonable timeframe or
• Be engaged with a third-party audit or a local certification scheme with reliable criteria.

Social:

By 2025 METRO aims for 100 % of species to be audited or certified against one of the accepted social audits/certifications following the requirements of the METRO Policy for Social Compliance.

Currently this is valid only for land-based processing factories as well as land-based and at-sea aquaculture. Regarding at-sea operations METRO will accept any certification standard that has been recognized by the seafood-specific social benchmark tool developed by The Global Sustainable seafood Initiative (GSSI) in collaboration with the Consumer Goods Forum.

Traceability:

By 2030 all products have to be digitally traceable and have to meet key data elements of the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) standard.

Additionally, the scientific and common names of species as well as the FAO catching area (wild catch) or name of the body of water (inland fishing) or the country of aquaculture have to be visible on products.

METRO is committed to sourcing 100% cage free shell eggs

• by the end of FY 2022 in Western and Southern Europe (DE|AT|IT|PT|ES|BE|NL|FR)
• by the end of FY 2025 in Eastern Europe(EU) (HU|HR|PL|CZ/SK|RO|BG)
• by the end of FY 2027 in remaining markets, such as TR|UA|RS|RU|IN|PK|JP|MD

Some countries have set shorter timelines for themselves. For example, PL has set an internal target of cage eggs withdrawal in 2022, three years before the METRO AG timeline, while TR has set a target in 2023, four years before the METRO AG timeline.

METRO is committed to sourcing 100% cage free liquid egg own brand products by the end 2027 (in challenging markets this timeline may be extended).

The Policy was revised in May and November 2021 to reflect tighter EU regulatory landscape on Cage Free farming and NGO feedback. As a result, our targets changed as above and TR, UA and RS moved into the 2027 target as non-EU countries. RU is now also included in the ‘remaining markets’ and no longer requires a special mention. We also differentiated between shell and liquid eggs products, giving the latter category more flexibility due to its immaterial impact in our assortment (only 2 countries having liquid egg product articles)

METRO is committed to:

• Genetically modified livestock (meat and fish) must not be used in our own-brand supply chain in line with our Animal Welfare Policy requirements.
• 100% transparency concerning genetically modified ingredients and ingredients originating from genetically modified organisms/plants in food products.
• 100% transparent labelling of food products containing more than 0.9% genetically modified ingredients

The Policy is currently under review. 

Target: Socially compliant supply chains for all risky own brand producers by 2030.

This includes non-food, near-food and food producers of all tiers that bear a risk in their production facilities with regards to potential Human Rights violations.

The social compliance can be proven by a valid audit against one of METROs accepted social audit schemes.

METRO aims that with a baseline of 2018, by 30 September 2023:

• all own brand packaging on all packaging levels is 100% PVC (PVdC) and EPS free 
• all primary and secondary paper/cardboard/wood own brand packaging is FSC / PEFC certified or has a minimum of 70% recycled content 
• 2,000 tonnes of plastic (virgin and recycled) own brand packaging shall be reduced.

By 2025, we will empower our customers’ businesses to move into a 100% future without any conventional single use plastic and increase resource efficiency by:

• Providing reusable, recyclable and compostable alternatives only
• Supporting our customers in this phase out and
• Advocating for the movement towards a circular economy regarding plastic

Reduction of scope 1 and scope 2 CO2 emissions by 60% per square metre selling and delivery space by 2030 compared to 2011.
Becoming climate neutral by 2040.
Reduction of absolute Scope 3 CO2 emissions (supply chain) by 15% by 2030 compared to 2018. 

Expansion of charging infrastructure, including the parking lots of local METRO stores to 1,000 charging points till 2030.

Promotion of electric mobility in METRO’s own fleet of vehicles to reach nearly 100% availability of electrical or high-quality hybrid vehicles by 2030.

25% of employees on the 1st management level below the Management Board and 40% of employees on the 2nd management level below the Management Board of METRO AG to be women by September 2025.

By September 2025, 30% of managerial positions on levels 1-3 (including store managers) of METRO Wholesale locations worldwide to be filled by women.