Sustainability Goals

Focus on People and the Planet

We Promote the Sustainable Development of Global Travel Retail

Gebr. Heinemann has developed its sustainability strategy from its core business and along its value chain. Our strategy is aligned with a fact- and figure-based approach and comprises the four fields of action "Environment", "Social", "Governance", and "Responsible Value Chain". Each field of action is backed by specific targets for the period up to 2030. These are embedded as sub-targets in our overarching strategic annual targets.

Transparency and communication are important foundations for the success of a sustainability strategy. In our Annual Report, we provide comprehensive information about past and planned sustainability measures and show how we implement corporate responsibility in our daily work.

Environment: The Lowest CO2e Footprint in Global Travel Retail

We want to protect the environment and preserve the planet for future generations. That is why we are committing to the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement as part of the Science Based Targets initiative. Our goal is to achieve net-zero emissions for Scope 1 and 2 by 2030 and to reduce our Scope 3 emissions by 50 percent compared to our 2019 baseline. To achieve this, we are working on switching to low-emission technologies, among other things.

For Scope 3, we are paying particular attention to transport emissions, as they account for the largest share, along with purchased goods and services. To this end, we are already testing the use of alternative fuels, setting up regional logistics hubs, shifting transport to rail and sea routes – using biofuels – and optimizing our logistics processes. Another measure we have implemented to protect the environment is the energy and environmental management system that we have introduced in our logistics centers and in our administration.

In addition, we are striving for a circular economy. We are working on reducing and converting our transport packaging, rethinking business models, and motivating our suppliers to use more sustainable packaging at the point of sale with our self-developed standards for environmentally friendly materials.

Our values and measures for responsible action in the fields of environmental protection and energy efficiency are set out in our Environmental- and Energy Policy.

Social: The Strongest DE&I Strategy in Global Travel Retail

We aim to be the most human-centric company in global travel retail and have made valuing people a cornerstone of our mission. This appreciation goes hand in hand with ensuring and actively promoting a diverse, equal, inclusive, fair, and safe working environment. Because it is only with an employer who stands for inclusive cooperation and equal opportunities that employees can achieve extraordinary things and provide inspiring service as authentic personalities.

That is why we have set ourselves the overarching goal of implementing the strongest diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) strategy and demonstrating the highest labor standards in global travel retail. Our DE&I Policy clarifies our vision and our approach to diversity, equality, and inclusion as a company and provides a unified framework for orientation and action.

Our culture, which is lived by around 9,000 people worldwide, embraces diversity as enrichment, equity as a necessity, and inclusion as a strength. To firmly anchor this culture, we have developed a DE&I strategy that encompasses both local and global goals and measures in the following fields of action: New talent, development, leadership, work-life balance, collaboration, work environment, and communication.

The measures include, among other things, internal DE&I training, a global platform for employee communication, group-wide solutions to support families, and barrier-free workplaces. In the future, we want to implement our diversity management at all our locations with a systematic approach, active engagement, and measurable impact. Our goal is to subsequently have the implementation and target achievement confirmed by the ISO 30415:2021 standard.

Governance: The Most Ethical Business Culture in Global Travel Retail

We understand sustainable corporate governance to mean a form of management that acts today with tomorrow in mind and always takes into account the legitimate interests of stakeholders in other places when making decisions. The aim is to ensure the company's productivity. To this end, we have set ourselves the goal of creating a global framework for sustainability – with clear responsibilities, guidelines, and processes. This framework enables us to implement our sustainability measures at all levels within our group.

At the top is the Corporate Sustainability Committee, which is made up of members of the Executive Board, other management representatives, and managing directors from our global locations and companies. This committee monitors the flow of information on sustainability at the highest level and makes binding decisions. The governance structure is completed by steering committees on the topics of the environment, DE&I, and human rights in the supply chain, as well as a network of sustainability ambassadors for all locations and divisions.

Responsible Value Chain: The Highest Human Rights Standards in Global Travel Retail

We are committed to a responsible value chain and thus to sustainability throughout the entire supply chain. As a retailer, we have no direct influence on the manufacturing criteria of our products. Therefore, we carefully monitor our value chain and work closely with our partners. We have set out our principles and requirements in a Supplier Code of Conduct. Our goal is to ensure high standards for sustainable production that respect all human rights at all times.

As a signatory and member of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), we disclose our fundamental principles on human rights in our Code of Ethics. With its introduction in 2021, we have established due diligence processes and made them transparent. In 2022, we published our strategy for implementing our due diligence in the Policy Statement on Human Rights. We have also established an assessment process for evaluating the sustainability of our suppliers. By working with EcoVadis and SEDEX and conducting risk analyses in accordance with the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, sustainability aspects are an integral part of our business relationships.

Our short-term goal is to cover at least 80 percent of our purchasing volume with these comprehensive assessments. We also aim to achieve a gold level for our own EcoVadis rating in the foreseeable future.

Increasing supplier transparency is an important step on the road to a robust human rights regime. Furthermore, there is a growing need for sustainability partnerships to work on other aspects of the responsible value chain. That is why Gebr. Heinemann began developing green business plans together with suppliers and customers in 2023.