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METRO GROUP : ANNUAL REPORT 2011 : BUSINESS
→ GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT : 7. SUSTAiNAbiliTy MANAGEMENT
pared a Group-wide purchasing policy for fish in 2011. The
policy defines eight core elements regarding fish purchasing
by the Group. They are:
→ establishing and expanding an environmentally sustainable
range of fish that meets customer demands
→ Developing and promoting internationally recognised and
sustainable environmental and social standards and relevant
labels along the entire fish supply chain
→ encouraging sustainable fisheries and aquacultures
→ optimising fishing methods, traceability and labelling
of fish
→ optimising procurement and logistics operations
→ Maintaining a close relationship with suppliers and producers
→ engaging in a regular dialogue with the scientific and political
communities
→ Issuing progress reports
The core elements include goals that were previously addressed
while also forming the foundation for new initiatives.
Their operational implementation is the responsibility of the
sales divisions and country organisations. It is their job to
develop their own specific fish purchasing guidelines.
For years now, MeTRo GRoUp has been committed to the
principles of sustainable, environmentally conscious fishing
practices. In 2002, for instance, we became the first retail and
wholesale company in Germany to offer own-brand products
bearing the label of the Marine stewardship Council (MsC)
for wild fish. The label indicates that a product came from responsibly
managed fishing. Today, consumers find a large selection
of MsC-certified brand-name product and own-brand
products in the assortments of our sales divisions. nonetheless,
we are determined to continuously track the sales of
products from certified sustainable fishing not just in the
area of wild fish. In order to take a holistic approach, we are
increasingly working on the development of the new standard
of the aquaculture stewardship Council (asC) for fish products
from sustainable aquaculture. In 2009, we took part in
the first discussions of the aquaculture Dialogues initiated by
the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). These discussions form the
foundation of the asC standards.
New standards for product-specific traceability
safety along the entire supply chain is a key issue for
MeTRo GRoUp. Food crises like the dioxin scandal involving
meats and eggs or the eHeC crisis in Germany reaffirmed
→ p. 127
the importance of increased transparency and seamless
monitoring during the reporting year. To be able to trace the
origin of products in a faster, product-specific manner, we
are supporting efforts to create internationally uniform
food labelling. Today, the worldwide identification standard
for food products is the Global Trade Item number (GTIn). It
offers general information about the properties of a product
in a certain product group, including colour and size.
But it does not provide a clear identification of an individual
product. our goal is the introduction of a serialized Global
Trade Item number (sGTIn) that will serve as a standard
for manufacturers and producers. a serial number (sGTIn)
will be added to the GTIn. Both the GTIn and the sGTIn
have been developed by the organisation Gs1 into standardised
numbers and can be used around the world. possible
carriers of the sGTIn include the Gs1 Databar, a linear barcode
that encodes supplemental information about the
best-before date or weight. MeTRo GRoUp uses Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) for a seamless documentation
of the goods’ journey through the supply chain.
additional information on RFID is included in chapter
6 Innovation Management on pages 122 to 124.
Extension of the voluntary commitment
To integrate the principle of responsible business practices into
the supply chain, we have committed ourselves to maintaining
sustainable standards. We also play an active role in committees
and programmes that are involved in the development of
standards in this area, among other things. In a reflection of this
work, MeTRo GRoUp became a member of the Roundtable on
sustainable palm oil (Rspo) in mid-May 2011. The organisation
was set up in 2004 with the aim of promoting sustainable farming
techniques for palm oil and of identifying alternatives to the
use of non-sustainable palm oil. as a member of the round
table, we have pledged to integrate Rspo’s principles into our
management system and take related actions. Drawing on our
work with our fish purchasing policy, we will also devise a
purchasing policy for sustainable palm oil.
To us, assuming responsibility in the supply chain involves
taking forceful steps regarding non-sustainable production
practices. In February 2011, a Group-wide ban was imposed
on the purchase of sandblasted jeans from current and future
suppliers. sandblasting gives jeans and other clothes a used
look. But the process is considered to be a threat to workers’
health, and MeTRo GRoUp is now refusing to purchase sandblasted
products as a result.