News article

•   12/09/2016
•   Created by REWE Group-Corporate Communications

As part of its sustainability policy, the REWE Group has successfully established a centralised energy management system in accordance with DIN EN ISO 50001 in Germany. The corresponding certificate was awarded by TÜV AUSTRIA CERT.

Source: www.rewe-group.com

The centralised energy management system comprises 150 companies with around 4,800 locations all over Germany. The certification has effected a concentration of previously diverse energy management activities within the retail group, as well as consistent documentation of these activities. A particular challenge in implementing the centralised energy management system was the large number of companies and the diversity of business models within the REWE Group. The scope includes business units such as food retailers, hardware stores, travel agencies, logistics centres, administrative buildings and online shops.

“We are very proud of this certificate. We did not start from scratch regarding an energy management system. Instead, we have synchronised and concentrated the extensive individual activities within the group. Truly a Herculean task for a group of companies that is organised as a decentralised cooperative. This is an important factor – besides the legal requirements of the Energy Services Act – because the REWE Group pursues the ambitious climate change mitigation goal of halving the greenhouse gas emissions per square metre of retail space until 2022 compared to 2006, and of continually reducing the specific power consumption. The centralised energy management system provides the necessary structures to further optimise our energy efficiency”, Dr Christian Mielsch, CEO of the REWE Group, commented. At the same time, REWE Group Deutschland meets the provisions of the amendment to the Energy Services Act, which requires companies that do not fall in the category of small or medium-sized enterprises as per EU definition to carry out energy audits or, alternatively, to establish an energy management system in accordance with DIN EN ISO 50001.

Operational support during implementation was provided by EHA Energie-Handels-Gesellschaft, a fully-owned subsidiary of the REWE Group. The energy service provider EHA specialises in companies organised in branch and cooperative structures.

Dr Karen Meimberg, member of the EHA staff and Energy Management Officer for the centralised energy management system of the REWE Group in Germany, pointed to the future: “Now that we have sucessfully established the structures and processes, we will continually develop and improve the energy management system.”

About the REWE Group
The cooperative REWE Group is one of the leading retail and tourism groups in Germany and Europe. In 2015, the organisation generated total external sales of over 52.4 billion euros. Founded in 1927, the REWE Group is active in 20 European countries, employing 330,000 staff in 15,000 shops. In 2015, around 232,000 employees generated sales of 38.2 billion euros in close to 10,000 shops in Germany.
The distribution chains include supermarkets and hypermarkets of the REWE, REWE CENTER, REWE CITY and BILLA brands, the discount retailer PENNY as well as hardware stores toom and B1 Discount Baumarkt. In addition, there are organic supermarkets (TEMMA), innovative convenience stores (REWE To Go), the catering concept “Oh Angie!” and e-commerce activities like REWE Lieferservice as well as Zooroyal, Weinfreunde and Kölner Weinkeller. Under the umbrella DER Touristik Group, the travel and tourism division includes operators ITS, Jahn Reisen and Travelix as well as Dertour, Meier’s Weltreisen, ADAC Reisen, Kuoni, Helvetic Tours, Apollo and Exim Tours. This is complemented by the business travel section FCM Travel Solutions and over 2,400 travel agencies (such as DER Reisebüro, DERPART, Kuoni), the hotel brands lti, Club Calimera, Cooee and PrimaSol, and the direct tour operator clevertours.com.

About the TÜV AUSTRIA Group
TÜV AUSTRIA is an international corporation with branches in more than 40 countries around the world. It employs over 1,400 staff and generates around 150 million euros in sales. The portfolio of services includes management system certifications as well as inspections of lifts and pressure equipment, plant safety, non-formal education and training, medical technology, electrical engineering, environmental impact assessments, noise control reports, carbon footprint assessments, IT security, loss adjustments, app checks, all types of certification and calibration, product testing, technical due diligence and legal compliance checks through to inspections of stage constructions, photovoltaic systems and wind turbines.