Breuninger and Materials

We offer our customers a wide range of high-quality products sourced from all over the world and made from a variety of materials. We are aware that many of these materials are not only highly sought-after but also in some cases controversial and the subject of critical debate. We recognize this as a challenge and use it as an opportunity to clearly acknowledge our responsibility. Together with our supply chain partners, we work hard to reduce the negative environment and social impacts of our products and our productions processes. We strive to always offer our customers more sustainable options, provided it is possible with the same quality and economic viability.

We are committed to promoting sustainable materials even more extensively throughout our products. Cotton is one of the most important textiles in our product offering. However, due to the high volume of fresh water and land space required, and the large quantities of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers used, conventionally grown cotton is problematic for the environment, for the people involved in production, and for the neighboring communities. Therefore, moving forward, all products from our range of private labels will be made from 100 percent sustainable cotton. In addition, the humane treatment of animals is a matter close to our hearts. For this reason, we have openly published our own animal welfare policy. In addition to the exclusion of real fur, angora wool and exotic leather, we have adopted several goals in this respect. Our Animal Welfare Policy applies to our own brands as well as to all external brands in our product offering. To ensure our entire product offering is more sustainable, Breuninger will begin applying sustainability seals for all external brands. It is our goal that the majority of the products in our range meet at least one sustainability seal over the next few years.

Our goals and achievements

Since 2020: Breuninger has excluded products made of angora wool, exotic leather and real fur from its entire range.

Since 2021: Breuninger is a member of the Fur Free Retailer program.

In 2021: We published our first animal welfare policy.

Ongoing: Breuninger is increasingly focusing on the use of sustainable cotton in the Breuninger brands and is consistently expanding the proportion of this.

Ongoing: More and more products in our range will meet at least one of the criteria for our sustainability certifications.

Breuninger and People

The people who work at and with Breuninger are the foundation of our success. Customer satisfaction is our main priority, and we work hard every day to maintain and improve our first-class service. This wouldn’t be possible without the passion and professionalism of our entire staff. For this reason, we strive to create the best possible work environment, where our employees feel welcome, can develop their talents and be recognized for their contributions. This also applies to those who work within our supply chain; we are committed to fair working conditions and health and safety provisions also among our business partners and suppliers.

Our goal is to establish a long-term and transparent relationship with all the people who work with and for Breuninger, including employees, suppliers, service providers and partners. This requires not only a trustworthy relationship, but also compliance with a set of requirements. These are outlined by Breuninger within its purchasing guidelines and its Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct defines the main principles for suppliers and business partners, in order to ensure that all products are manufactured in an ethical, socially acceptable and environmentally conscious manner. In future, this will also apply to all direct business partners and suppliers of products from Breuninger’s own brands and will become an integral part of supplier contracts. 

Our goals and achievements

Since 2021: We have a Code of Conduct and make it a binding part of all supplier contracts of the Breuninger brands.

Ongoing: Training and development have always been major components of our DNA. Our dedicated talent management programs help to promote the individual strengths of our employees.

Breuninger and Environment

In order to provide our customers with the product selection and shopping experience they desire—both in store and online—we require resources. The main factors include our energy consumption, the waste we produce, and the emissions we generate through our buildings, logistic centers and transport. We take climate protection seriously and are constantly working to reduce any harmful impact and thus contribute to a healthy environment.

We are continuously looking for new ways to reduce our CO2 emissions in the mid- and long-term and to conserve natural resources. When it comes to reducing CO2 emissions, our main focus is on the areas where we can exert the greatest influence: our transport logistics and our facilities. We have set ourselves the goal of making online orders and internal transportation carbon neutral over the next few years. To save resources and reduce waste, we also want to increase the use of natural, recycled and/or recyclable materials in our procurement process. We have made it our mission to always choose the most sustainable alternative—the easiest solution is not always the most sustainable. Consequently, we switched to a new, climate-neutral bubble wrap in December 2021. This bubble wrap is made of up to 70 percent recycled household waste and is itself fully recyclable. We are also working on new sustainable solutions for the repackaging of products, in order to save resources across the board.

Our goals and achievements

Since 2021: We have been using sustainable recycled and recyclable packing materials to protect fragile package contents during transit.

By 2022: All deliveries for orders placed online will be carbon neutral.

By 2025: All internal transportation and deliveries will be carbon-neutral.

By 2025: All of facilities that we control will be carbon-neutral.

By 2025: We will have eliminated plastic as far as possible—single-use plastic will be avoided and outer packaging will be 100 percent plastic-free.

Ongoing: We will avoid the use of printed materials in all order and delivery processes.

Breuninger and Community

We see ourselves as part of the community—at all our locations. We want to be a reliable partner for our immediate neighborhood, a partner that strengthens society through social commitment and actively contributes to a livable city with a high quality of life.

Our commitment to sustainability also extends to the region and its residents. At many of our locations, we are in close contact with local community organizations, support numerous projects and actively connect our employees with those projects. With targeted actions, we want to contribute to an infrastructure that promotes sustainability and supports projects and people in the region—and through our own facilities and procurement processes, we can exert the most influence. For example, we are planning the installation of charging stations for cars and e-bikes in our parking garages. In addition, we are working to promote local farms with the increased use of seasonal and regional products in our restaurants.

Our goals and achievements

Ongoing: We will increasingly rely on regional and seasonal products in our gastronomy.

Ongoing: We will continue to work with several community organizations and strengthen social connections at our locations through civic engagement.