The DERTOUR Group is actively committed to climate protection. Our projects and initiatives aim to reduce the environmental impact of our business division and promote more climate-friendly alternatives. These projects are bundled in our Group-wide climate program “ONE Climate”.
In March 2024, REWE Group officially committed to the „Science Based Targets Initiative“ (SBTi) and thus made a company-wide decision FOR climate protection.
As part of REWE Group, DERTOUR Group is committed to science-based climate targets based on the 1.5-degree path of the Paris Climate Agreement and aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 with all REWE Group units.
The focus is not only on drastically reducing emissions in its own business units (Scope 1 & 2), but also on emissions in its own supply chain (Scope 3).
As part of the SBTi commitment, DERTOUR Group is focusing on the following goals:
As a direct response to the SBTi Commitment, DERTOUR Group has initiated the ONE Climate climate protection program, thus making climate protection a binding part of the Group strategy.
Science Based Target Initiative
The Science Based Targets initiative provides companies with a clearly defined pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, helping to prevent the worst impacts of climate change and make business growth sustainable. Targets are considered ‘science based’ if they are in line with what the latest climate science says is necessary to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Climate program ONE Climate
ONE Climate bundles all climate-relevant projects of the DERTOUR Group. Our main goals are:
- Reduction of emissions
- Bundling all climate-relevant projects in a cross-Group project
- Fulfilment of external requirements (e.g., SBTi)
- Achieving the targets set by SBTi, in particular reducing the Group’s emissions
- External positioning as part of the climate solution (not just part of the problem)
- Climate protection as part of the company’s core principles that guide us in business and actions
In addition to a Management & Steering program and a separate project for climate accounting, ONE Climate focuses on three pillars:
SBTi
This pillar focuses on the overarching management of the SBTi commitment and the implementation of the supplier engagement target in the respective areas. We are increasingly relying on the cooperation and support of our partners, for example in the area of aviation:
Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF): As part of a strategic partnership, with the Lufthansa Group we were the first major tour operator to acquire Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The fuel consists of biogenic residues such as used cooking oil and reduces CO2 emissions by around 80 percent compared to conventional kerosene. With the SAF acquired, DERTOUR Group offers its guests more climate-friendly air travel with SAF use at no extra charge. We bear the costs for the SAF. The purchased SAF enables us to improve the carbon footprint of selected products. These trips are presented in the DERTOUR Magalog (a mixture of magazine and catalog) with the title “Conscious Travel”.
Climate projects
As part of our ONE Climate program, we are focusing on the following climate projects, which also contribute to our climate targets:
Climate footprints for hotels: Futouris industry project to support hotels in measuring emissions and developing a climate reduction strategy.
Climate footprints: Industry project by Futouris/KlimaLink to develop a standard for calculating the emissions of a trip and reporting the climate impact on the product.
More climate-friendly product design: Futouris industry project to actively incorporate the climate impact of travel components into product design and management.
KlimaLink
In order to further sensitize customers to the climate impact of their travel and possible climate-friendly alternatives, we are committed to establishing a uniform basis for calculating the travel climate footprint.
In the fall of 2021, we joined forces with Futouris e. V., the industry initiative for sustainable tourism, to conduct a feasibility study on the creation of a CO2 cadastre, which was transferred to the industry project “Climate-conscious Travel” in 2022. The project resulted in forming the KlimaLink e.V. association in October 2022, in which we are actively involved as a founding member.
Together with other players in the industry, we have developed a calculation standard and a visualisation of emissions from travel and travel components. This is intended to reduce the climate footprint of travel, the industry as a whole and also of us as a company. From the end of 2024, we will therefore successively disclose the emissions from travel and travel components – starting with flights, online and later also in catalogues – in German-speaking countries.
Local Implementation
Group-wide targets are set for areas with a direct impact on emissions reduction. These must be implemented in the international units. For example, there are already electricity and paper targets for Germany, and other individual units already have reduction targets. The targets are now being monitored and managed at Group level via the ONE Climate programme.
Electricity targets until 2030
- Between 2019 and 2030: Reduction of electricity consumption at headquarters by 30%
- Between 2019 and 2030: Reduction of electricity consumption on average per travel agency by 10%
In our own business, we use resources responsibly and reduce our emissions. In this context, our activities relate to our central locations as well as our travel agencies and own hotels. REWE Group Germany has established a central energy management system in accordance with DIN EN ISO 50001, which includes DERTOUR Group in Germany. Although we only contribute to a small share of REWE Group Germany’s total energy consumption, our company takes opportunities to improve energy efficiency very seriously and sets its own energy targets (electricity and heat), based on REWE Group’s overarching goals.
Paper tagets
- By 2030: Reduction overall consumption by 10% per year
- By 2025: Increasing the proportion of recycled paper to 100%
These targets relate to catalog production for the German brands, office paper in Frankfurt & Cologne, office paper in travel agencies and advertising materials.
Beyond the measures taken within the scope of our energy management, we are not only reducing our climate footprint in our own business area, but also take measures related to our value chain. As part of our climate strategy, we are optimizing paper consumption. With these targets, based on massive paper reduction and increase in recycled content that has already taken place, we can reduce emissions from paper use in Germany by up to 60 percent by 2030 compared to 2022. Catalog production accounts for the largest share of this, which is why the topics of digitization, demand planning, and adjustments and optimization of scopes play a major role.