Moving People

Let’s Talk about Sustainability!

How do our hospitality customers feel about sustainability? METRO investigated this question with an international survey. The results show: many of them are engaged in sustainability, but implementation is still being fine-tuned.

Sustainability concerns all of us – the surveyed restaurateurs agree: 57% of them feel ‘completely’ responsible for sustainability – 34% just slightly. But for many of them, environmental protection and social engagement also mean more time and money, which means that they cannot work as sustainably as they would like. ‘Different markets are at different stages of development’, says Sarah Blanchard, Head of Corporate Responsibility at METRO, explaining the results of the survey, which often vary widely from country to country. According to the survey results, suppliers like METRO play an important role for respondents when it comes to demonstrating sustainable paths. ‘We have the unique opportunity to support our customers with sustainable products as well as with solutions and advice’, says Blanchard.

Innovative solutions for greater sustainability

METRO goes beyond simply illustrating to customers why sustainability is important to them by helping them through products and solution to demonstrate their own commitment to the public. The goal is to raise awareness about the topic and change the way society thinks about it. ‘An example is the partnership with the Too Good To Go  app  to combat food waste’, says Sarah Blanchard. METRO also supports restaurateurs on their path to sustainability through its product range: ‘We support local producers and seasonal products and increasingly focus on innovative solutions such as urban or indoor vegetable gardens.’

The survey:

A total of 6,723 customers from 23 countries participated in METRO’s sustainability survey. The focus was on 3 customer groups: HoReCa (hotels, restaurants and caterers), Traders (independent retailers such as kiosk and petrol station operators) and SCOs (such as service providers, companies and authorities).
The fact that there will always be certain global products like coffee, tea and chocolate will not change and our duty to source these responsibly continues. Regional products which are gaining importance for suppliers, restaurateurs and guests are nevertheless a step in the right direction. Currently, 20% of the surveyed restaurateurs fully agree with the statement that METRO supports them in acting sustainably. This result is an incentive for METRO to sharpen its focus on sustainability in order to become the preferred partner for even more restaurateurs in this field.

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