By 2030, 95 per cent of the waste generated by the Schwarz Group's companies is to be reused, recycled, composted or fermented.

The joint 95 per cent target is part of the ‘Road to Zero Waste’ initiative, according to the Schwarz Group. In the 2024 financial year, the proportion of total waste generated and recycled by the Group's companies is said to have already been 89 per cent, amounting to more than 3 million tonnes. Now, the Schwarz Group companies want to take the next step and pursue an even more ambitious target of 95 per cent by 2030. For internal waste, thermal recycling with energy recovery (incineration, according to DIN SPEC 91436 definition) would be deliberately excluded as a recycling measure. This ambitious level is said to be made possible by the circular economy division PreZero, which is driving forward the ‘Road to Zero Waste’ as a central strategic advisor within the Schwarz Group.
 
According to the Schwarz Group, the ‘Road to Zero Waste’ target covers all waste generated in all stores, logistics centres, administrative locations and production sites. Excluded are waste generated within the company's own recycling and disposal facilities, as well as construction waste. "With our ambitious Road to Zero Waste goal, we are further expanding our pioneering position in the field of circular economy and resource conservation. We are thus demonstrating clearly and measurably that the circular economy works and that there is no alternative," explains Susanne Marell, Executive Board Member for Schwarz Corporate Affairs and responsible for Corporate Responsibility.
 
Sources:

• Press release Schwarz Group (2.12.2025)
• Photo: © Schwarz Gruppe