Neckarsulm, July 22, 2026 – Schwarz Group, an international leader in the retail industry, has released its seventh Sustainability Report for the 2025 fiscal year. This report highlights the company’s commitment to economic success, ecological responsibility, and social responsibility, even in volatile times. The report also showcases the company’s efforts towards achieving a net-zero target by 2050, which was scientifically validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) last year.
According to Susanne Marell, Executive Vice President of Schwarz Corporate Affairs, the company remains steadfast in its sustainability targets, despite geopolitical volatility. She states that through investments in energy and resource sovereignty, as well as a clear commitment to their responsibility as an employer and trainer, the company is reinforcing the long-term stability and future viability of their entire ecosystem.
The company’s sustainability efforts have also been recognized by an external ESG rating, which confirms the effectiveness of their approach in achieving long-term financial, ecological, and social goals. This continuous and transparent assessment helps to reduce potential market and environmental risks significantly. With around 604,000 employees, the integrated ecosystem of the companies of Schwarz Group remains a reliable anchor of stability in economically challenging times. In the 2025 fiscal year, the company created 9,000 new jobs worldwide, with 5,000 of them in Germany alone.
In response to the volatile energy markets driven by global uncertainties, and as a lever for active climate action, the companies of Schwarz Group have been continuously expanding the use and production of energy from renewable sources. In 2025, the amount of self-generated solar power rose by 28 percent, equivalent to more than 473,000 megawatt-hours. This corresponds to an average annual consumption of more than 136,000 households. The company has also reduced their consolidated operational emissions by 44.1 percent compared to the 2019 base year, showcasing their progress towards the jointly defined, near-term climate target for 2030, which calls for a 48 percent reduction in emissions. As a strategic tool, the companies have also published a climate transition plan in the report, outlining key levers to achieve their net-zero target by 2050.
Resource sovereignty is another focus area for the company, with a successful conclusion of their previous plastic strategy in 2025. The company achieved a 35.9 percent reduction in plastic compared to 2017, along with a 26.1 percent use of recycled material and a 67.3 percent recyclability rate for own-brand primary plastic packaging. The company has also adopted a successor strategy, “REset Resources,” with expanded targets by 2030 to encompass all packaging materials. The company has also achieved a positive result for the handling of operational waste, with 90.1 percent of waste being reused, recycled, composted, or fermented. This figure is set to increase to 95 percent by 2030, with pure waste incineration deliberately excluded.
The complete Sustainability Report for the 2025 fiscal year is available online and showcases the company’s commitment to sustainability and their unique ecosystem. Schwarz Group continues to create solutions to make people’s lives safer, healthier, and more sustainable, while also acting ahead in the retail industry.
For more information, please contact Schwarz Corporate Affairs GmbH & Co. KG at +49(0)7132 30-788600 or via email at presse@mail.schwarz.
About Schwarz Group
Schwarz Group, an international leader in the retail industry, operates in 33 countries with over 14,500 stores and 604,000 employees. In the 2025 fiscal year, the company generated a total sales volume of 185.6 billion euros. Schwarz Group’s unique ecosystem covers the full value cycle, from production and retail to recycling and digitalization. The company’s various divisions, including Lidl and Kaufland, PreZero, Schwarz Digits, and Schwarz Corporate Solutions, work towards their mission of creating a clean and sustainable future while providing customers with high-quality products and services.
*By 2050 at the latest, Schwarz Group aims to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions along the entire value chain to net zero. Any unavoidable residual emissions will be neutralized through carbon removal solutions in accordance with the SBTi standard.
