Offering variety, protecting diversity

We believe that treating nature with respect and doing business in a sustainable manner is part of our overall social obligation. At the same time, it means that we can guarantee our long-term business success, because resources are becoming scarce and prices for raw materials are rising. Environmental protection and efficient use of resources therefore play an important role in our company strategy, and as a result, 2010 saw us add more articles to our range of sustainably produced consumer goods.

A holistic viewpoint using life cycle analysis

We analyse the possible impact our products could have on the environment in a systematic way using, for the product groups that are most important to us, methods known as Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). In our analyses, we check all of the phases in the life cycles of our consumer goods to ascertain their resource consumption and environmental impact. LCAs cover all phases, from extraction of the raw materials and production to the usage and subsequent disposal of the items. Using the results of these holistic analyses, we develop measures to further lessen our products’ environmental impact at all relevant stages of the value chain. We have created a corresponding catalogue of criteria which our product designers use for guidance on environmental issues, meaning they can take these into account from the development phase onward.

Protecting resources, promoting recycling

Garden furniture, T-shirts, electrical appliances – the variety of materials used in the production of our consumer goods is just as diverse as our range of products itself. We deploy a number of strategies to ensure that resources and materials are used efficiently. The focus of our climate and environmental protection activities associated with our consumer goods is on the following:

• Cotton

• Wood
• Energy-consuming products

In the long term, we will evaluate the materials in question from the point of view of sustainability, so we can use raw materials still more efficiently and in this way reduce impact on the environment. This ambitious objective is something we can only achieve in conjunction with other companies and organisations.

Supporting environmentally and socially responsible cotton production

Cotton is one of the most important raw materials used in the textile industry. Over 20 million tons of raw cotton are harvested around the world every year. We want to make an active contribution to improving the quality of life of people who make their livelihood from cotton growing while also reducing the environmental pressures associated with the crop. We are working for more efficient and therefore more productive cotton cultivation, for example in the “Cotton made in Africa” initiative. In addition to this, we encourage the ecologically sound production of cotton cloth by stocking textiles made from cotton grown organically.

• Cotton made in Africa: The aim of the “Cotton made in Africa” (CmiA) initiative is to create long-term improvements in the lives of small farmers in Africa and their families. Farmers are trained in the use of modern, efficient cultivation methods, such as consciously keeping pesticide use at a minimum while using modern irrigation techniques. There are also parallel projects which support the education of children and young people in these cotton-growing areas. CmiA textiles already account for 5% of the cotton products we sell each year – this means 2.8 million T-shirts, jumpers, jackets, trousers and domestic articles. In 2010, we were the world’s largest user of CmiA cotton.
• Organic cotton: Since 2008, we have been stocking products made from organically produced cotton. We work with the independent international organisation Textile Exchange, whose standards system ensures that the cotton is cultivated in absolute accordance with the EU’s regulation on organic farming, which stipulates the use of natural pest control and organic fertilisers only.

In the 2010 financial year, sustainably cultivated cotton from the “Cotton made in Africa” project and organic cotton (certified to Textile Exchange OE 100 standard) accounted for 5.2% of our total range of cotton goods. We want to continue increasing this percentage. In order to achieve this aim, we are currently revising the processes we use in purchasing. However, current raw cotton prices have made it difficult to adhere to these aims, so what we at least want to achieve is to maintain our 2010 rate in 2011.

Of growing importance: wood from sustainable forests

Forests are home to millions of plants and animals; they soak up CO₂, which has a detrimental effect on the climate; and they protect the soil from erosion and desiccation. We use wood for a lot of our consumer goods, particularly for garden furniture. We are continuously expanding the use of wood obtained from sustainable sources, and we are implementing measures to ensure that wood obtained from illegal logging is not used for our products. In 2010, we topped the “wood ranking” compiled by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), outperforming other retail companies which make a wide range of products for the mass market. It is a distinction we are proud of.

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC^®): We work with the FSC^® for wood products because the standard maintained by this organisation was developed using what is known as a multi-stakeholder process. For over 10 years, all garden furniture we sell that is made of tropical or boreal hardwoods has been certified according to the standards of this non-profit association. This seal of approval guarantees that the product was made with wood sourced from forests managed in an environmentally and socially responsible way. As of September 2009, we hold our own FSC^® certificate, making us the first German retail company with one for both paper and wood products. In mid-2010, we became members of FSC^® Germany, and in 2010, we were able to provide our customers with 29 FSC^®-certified products – up from 19 the year before. This is a trend which we want to step up in 2011.
• Forest Tracing Standard (FTS): In 2008, we also developed a standard of our own, the Forest Tracing Standard (FTS), an undertaking in which we received the support of the WWF. Our standard stipulates that our suppliers have to be able to prove where the wood we buy comes from. This ensures that no wood is obtained from areas where illegal logging takes place and that no protected species are used. We revised the FTS standard in 2010 to make it easier for suppliers and buyers to understand. At the same time, we made our basic requirements even stricter. These measures contribute to our aim of widening the FTS standard to cover all of our products which use wood, so helping us fully meet the stipulations of the EU’s FLEGT programme against illegal logging and the illegal timber trade – these regulations will be binding as of the year 2013.

From two hours to seven minutes – less is more in standby mode

We are aware of ecological issues even during the development phase of our electrical goods, an approach which brings us in line with the EU’s Ecodesign Directive. The objective of this law is to increase the energy efficiency and overall environmental friendliness of electrical items and other products which affect energy consumption. One aspect of implementing the EU’s Ecodesign Directive is minimising the amount of electricity our appliances use when they are on standby. Over the past few years, we have made a lot of progress here, and we have been able to cut our appliances’ standby use of electricity to under one watt. In 2010, we also substantially reduced the standby time of our Tchibo Cafissimo coffee capsule machine from 120 to 7 minutes.

REACH: effective protection from harmful substances

REACH stands for “Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals”, and it is the name of a EU regulation which came into force in June 2007. The guideline regulates the use of chemical substances and is intended to protect people and the environment from harmful and dangerous chemicals. We want to play a leading role in implementing this new regulation, and as part of our comprehensive management programme for component chemicals, we are concentrating on eliminating the use of particularly hazardous substances from our consumer goods. In addition, we have adapted our supplier contracts to REACH, and we have developed a system for ensuring that we fully and reliably meet requirements on customer information.

Setting a green example

It doesn’t matter one bit how environmentally sound our range of products is if consumers don’t buy them. For this reason, we have made it our goal to encourage climate-friendly and sustainable consumption. For example, in August 2010, one of our weekly themes revolved entirely around resource efficiency in the home. The slogan was “We help you save – and set a green example”, and our customers had a wide choice of consumer goods designed to reduce resource consumption, such as timers, digital thermostats and water-saving components. FSC^®-certified wood products and CmiA cotton products also each played a central role in one of our weekly themes in 2010.In the coming years, we will continue to provide our customers with information specifically related to our products, by making brochures and flyers available in our shops and in the internet.