Metro Group again with good ranking in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World

• Recognition for successful integration of sustainability into corporate management
• Strongest improvement in the field of ecologically efficient management
• Ranking again significantly above the industry average

METRO GROUP has again been admitted to the internationally renowned Dow Jones Sustainability Index World. The analysts in particular recognised the retail group’s commitment to the economic dimension of sustainability. This includes a good risk management, effective regulations to fight corruption and an efficient customer management. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices include the companies with the best ecological, social and economic performance in their line of industry. For the DJSI World, this means only ten percent of the 2,500 largest corporations.

“The good performance in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index demonstrates once again that our commitment in the field of sustainable management is also recognised by independent capital market experts”, says Dr Eckhard Cordes, CEO of METRO AG. “Sustainability forms an integral part of our corporate strategy as a sustainable profitable growth is only possible if we act responsibly with regard to society and the environment. For the continuous development of our sustainability strategy the company assessment in the framework of the Dow Jones Indices has served as an important guideline for us for many years already”.

The companies listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices must achieve continuous improvements in the field of sustainability for which they are assessed by the analysts of the Sustainable Asset Management Group (SAM). The assessment is based on an extensive analysis of the parameters economy, ecology and social responsibility. In this year’s review, METRO GROUP came out significantly better than its peers in all three categories. The good ranking is owed in particular to the special recognition of the company’s environmental management system. Here, the strongest improvement was reported in the segments ecologically efficient management and environmental reporting. This includes for example the transparent publication of the company’s consumption of resources and its carbon emissions in the same way as a positive development of these parameters.

The good rating of METRO GROUP is also the result of a clear leadership and coordination in the field of sustainability that was initiated a good two years ago with the establishment of the Sustainability Board. Under the chair of Dr Eckhard Cordes and the business management coordination of Dr Michael Inacker, Head of Corporate Communication, Public Affairs & CSR, this panel bundles and steers the numerous sustainability activities of METRO GROUP and embeds group-wide standards for a sustainable management.


METRO GROUP is one of the largest and most international retailing companies. In 2010 the Group reached sales of around € 67 billion. The company has a headcount of some 280,000 employees and operates more than 2,100 stores in 33 countries. The Group’s performance is based on the strength of its sales brands which operate independently in their respective market segment: Metro/Makro Cash & Carry - the international leader in self-service wholesale, Real hypermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn - European market leader in consumer electronics retailing, and Galeria Kaufhof department stores.