Community involvement
Actively involved
METRO is a people’s business, thus an active part of society, contributing to communities all over the world. Led by the firm conviction that we have the responsibility to give back, we constantly push forward the sustainability movement. We do this through partnerships and by being actively involved in social initiatives and environmental projects – worldwide. We are sponsor and donor. We support international emergency aid and charitable initiatives, sports, and cultural events. But most of all, we support our staff. Those, who are behind our activities. We foster their appreciation of the close link between METRO and society and strengthen their social skills and sense of personal responsibility. Because together we can do so much more.
Our Engagement
Corporate Citizenship at METRO
Corporate Citizenship has a long tradition at METRO. We are committed to support the communities in which we live and operate. And we know first-hand that “doing the right thing” is equally as important to our employees. It creates a sense of pride and purpose to contribute to society through their work at METRO.
To this end, we foster trustful and often long-term partnerships with organisations with whom we share and expand our set of knowledge and expertise to jointly create impact and value in society. These partnerships are key for a business of our reach and scale. Our involvement as a Corporate Citizen can contribute to global goals. Partnerships can be allocated to Group level or support one region, one project at a time. In either case, each partnership and each project are carefully selected because we want to achieve an impact in line with our business purpose and our strategic sustainability goals, for example promoting responsible consumption while rigorously reducing food waste.
We want our employees to understand what our sustainability goals are by experiencing the impact for themselves. In this way, we ensure that every employee sees themselves as part of our sustainability strategy, as part of a committed community who understands the value of their skills and competencies as an empowerment to give back – and as an opportunity to grow, both professionally and personally.
Food banks
In 25 countries we cooperate with food service organizations and social institutions to avoid food waste in our stores, restaurants, and warehouses as they collect leftover, consumable food and distribute it to the needy.
In Germany, we have been working with the foodbank “Die Tafel” for more than 20 years, 19 years as main sponsor. Every day, the local organizations collect food from all our 102 stores in Germany.
METRO is active at European level too, supporting the European Federation of Food Banks (Fédération Européenne des Banques Alimentaires, FEBA.
Find out more on our fight against food waste.
Sponsoring
METRO promotes an intact and attractive social environment. We donate. We act as a sponsor. We provide financial and material resources. Our employees and trainees are also active and involved in numerous projects.
METRO Donations and Sponsoring Guideline
The METRO Guideline on donations and sponsoring regulates donations and sponsoring measures to external organizations and companies.
METRO Sculpture Park Foundation
Space for art: in spring 2006, the METRO campus in Düsseldorf was transformed into an exhibition space – a place to admire artworks of the METRO Sculpture Park Foundation. In this way, the foundation promotes a productive coexistence of work, trade and art. The foundation also supports young visual artists in Düsseldorf, making their works accessible to a broad public. It operates in cooperation with the state capital Düsseldorf and representatives of the city’s art scene, under the aegis of the district president. Moreover, the foundation awards grants to eligible artists and organises and realises presentations and exhibitions.