“As a food-producing family business with production and distribution companies on every continent around the world, we are aware of our special responsibility towards people and nature. With the implementation of the Dr. Oetker Sustainability Charter, we promote the conscious lifestyle of our consumers, ensure fair and sustainable con-ditions along the entire supply chain while at the same time minimize our ecological footprint. Dr. Oetker is thus remaining true to its core competence, producing high-quality food for sustainable moments of enjoyment and offering its consumers more and more relevant solutions around its product ranges," says Dr. Albert Christmann, Chairman of the Executive Board of Dr. Oetker.

Three dimensions of the Sustainability Charter

The Sustainability Charter, which was rolled out internally in 2020, comprises of a total of 27 projects, under the umbrella of which interdisciplinary teams work to achieve the ambitious sustainability goals. The specific goals are assigned to the three dimensions Our Food, Our World and Our Company.

Our Food pursues the approach to enable consumers to lead a health-oriented and sustainable lifestyle. Among other things, Dr. Oetker will strengthen its existing activities and continue to develop healthier foods. By 2025, for example, the company aims to optimize the nutritional profiles of its products and, for example, reduce the use of salt, sugar and fat by up to 20 percent.

Our World brings together all the activities with which Dr. Oetker positively shapes the social and environmental impact of its corporate activities. The company will achieve climate neutrality at all locations by 2022. The amount of food waste that Dr. Oetker can directly influence will be reduced by 25 percent by 2025. With the goal of ensuring that all packaging materials can be recycled by 2025, the company is also making an important contribution to reducing plastic waste. In addition, Dr. Oetker plans to make its supply chains sustainable – both socially and ecologically.

Our Company relates to the employees of Dr. Oetker: The company remains a social employer, ensures equality and promotes diversity. With the aim of completely preventing occupational accidents, Dr. Oetker will also implement a management system that complies with the internationally recognized certification standard ISO 45001 at all production sites by 2025.

All goals and background information can be found at: www.oetker.de/nachhaltigkeit (German) and www.oetker.com/sustainability (English)

Focus on consumer needs

When designing the goals, Dr. Oetker naturally included its consumers, as Dr. Judith Güthoff, Head of Sustainability & Compliance at Dr. Oetker, explains: "The results of the surveys of internal stakeholders and our consumers are, in addition to our own convictions, an important basis for the goals we have set ourselves in the Sustainability Charter. Dr. Oetker has always focused on the consumer. So it is only logical that we should hear their opinion and include their wishes. Against this background, the Dr. Oetker Sustainability Charter is also a reflection of social developments that aim to put issues such as climate protection, animal welfare and diversity at the center of our activities. At the same time, our actions reflect the increasing health awareness of consumers, for whom conscious and sustainable nutrition is becoming more and more important. We take this into account with our sustainability goals."