How We Act

Today’s waste becomes tomorrow’s recyclable material: old yoghurt pots become new laundry baskets; old shampoo bottles become new sandbox toys. Our environmental service provider PreZero collects, separates, recycles and reprocesses waste – from household waste to electrical appliances to plastic packaging. The goal: to reuse recyclable waste again and again, keeping it in a closed loop. Our success rate: in the 2023 financial year, 87.6 percent of all waste from companies of Schwarz Group was recycled, reused, fermented or composted. Acting ahead rather than just thinking ahead – the companies of Schwarz Group.

Fully stocked shelves are no longer a given. This was demonstrated not only by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also by other disruptions to the value and supply chains. With Schwarz Produktion, we secure the supply of important items for Lidl and Kaufland: from baked goods to coffee, from chocolate and other products to beverages. At the same time, we are driving forward sustainable food production for a number of our Lidl and Kaufland private label brands – for example with the bodies of our closed-loop bottles, made from 100 percent recycled materials and chocolate made from certified cocoa. Acting ahead rather than just thinking ahead – the companies of Schwarz Group.

Nutrition is a lever for reducing our carbon footprint: That is why we are making more sustainable food available and, above all, affordable for everyone. We are supporting farmers in the field to transform their operations to more sustainable practices. We are expanding our range of seasonal and regional products in our stores and supporting our customers to make more sustainable purchase decisions. With zero percent price difference between plant-based proteins and comparable animal products, we are creating equality on the plate at Lidl and Kaufland in Germany. So, it is the customer who chooses between meat and veggie rather than their budget. Acting ahead rather than just thinking ahead – the companies of Schwarz Group.

The more diverse the solutions, the more effective the protection of our planet: With our leading ecosystem, we take a holistic approach to climate protection. By electrifying logistics with e-trucks and expanding the charging infrastructure, we are reducing emissions in transportation. We generate green electricity on our sites with more than four million square meters of photovoltaic equipment. And our more than 4,000 sustainability-certified buildings conserve resources, save energy and promote biodiversity. Acting ahead rather than just thinking ahead – the companies of Schwarz Group.

Doing business sustainably in the digital age also means being independent: With Schwarz Digits, we operate 1,250 IT and digital solutions. From cloud and cybersecurity to artificial intelligence and secure communication – always conforming to the highest European data protection standards. In this way, we guarantee the greatest possible digital sovereignty for a sustainable, future-oriented economy and society. Acting ahead rather than just thinking ahead – the companies of Schwarz Group.