Better Health for All
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BayWa's Foundation invested almost €1.1 million in projects promoting healthy nutrition in 2022
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, representing 25.58% of the Group's total donations of €4.3 million
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, directly contributing to preventative healthcare for children
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. During public health emergencies, the company provided comprehensive support for Covid-19, including masks, disinfectant, test stations, vaccination campaigns at 6 sites over 11 days in 2022
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, and weekly consultations
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. It also organized 29 lorries of aid for Ukrainian refugees
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. For mental health, BayWa offers employees free seminars on stress management, resilience, and mindfulness
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, and its subsidiary BayWa r.e. provides access to Lyra Wellbeing
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, including 24/7 counseling and up to eight psychotherapy sessions for eligible German employees
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, and launched a Mental Health First Aid network in EMEA and Asia
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. In nutrition and food safety, all BayWa operations and suppliers are certified by GFSI-recognized food safety schemes
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, and its subsidiary T&G Fresh implements FCP and HAACP
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. The company invests in systems to increase organic product sales
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and its Fairgrow foundation donated 978,654 kg of fruit and vegetables in 2022
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. The BayWa Foundation also invested almost €1.1 million in 2022 in projects promoting healthy nutrition
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, including 335 school gardens
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, 132 theme days
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, and distributing 120,000 copies of "Der Ernährungskompass" to promote health literacy among children
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. The company's products do not have addiction potential, it does not conduct clinical trials, nor does it hold healthcare-related patents or offer health-related products requiring accessibility considerations.
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
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BayWa AG's core business is in agriculture, energy, and building materials, and it does not offer lending or deposit services to consumers. Therefore, KPIs related to consumer financial products, such as underserved client share, pricing fairness, exploitative fee exposure, customer debt burden, and product simplicity, are not applicable. While the BayWa Foundation supports young agricultural scientists in Africa since 2019
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and the BayWa AgriFoodTech Venture Alliance promotes sustainable food production
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, these are not dedicated loan or insurance programs for low-income, SME, or micro-segments, nor are they financial literacy initiatives. The company is not regulated as a lender, and regulatory findings by BaFin were for accounting errors, not unfair lending practices
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. No evidence of customer financial data generation or management, or financial service access points, was provided.
Fair Pay & Worker Respect
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In 2023, 54.1% of employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements.
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The CEO-to-employee pay ratio was 33x in 2023.
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The company reported an employee turnover rate of 10.8% in 2023.
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No substantiated human rights violations were reported in 2021
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, and no significant labor law violations or fines were reported in 2022 or 2023.
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However, 15.2% of employees were on temporary contracts in 2022.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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95% of direct suppliers to BayWa AG had contracts that included enforceable ethical-sourcing clauses in 2022.
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Honest & Fair Business
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BayWa AG has a formal digital whistleblower system, as outlined in its March 2025 Code of Conduct
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and on its website
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. This system is available for employees, business partners, suppliers, and third parties to report various compliance issues, including human rights, environmental, climate, occupational health, corruption, antitrust, and data protection
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. Whistleblowers are protected from retaliation or discrimination
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. The company also has anti-corruption and anti-bribery policies, which are part of its group-wide Code of Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct
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. These policies condemn bribery and corruption and require compliance with national and international laws
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. However, details regarding independent investigation processes for whistleblower reports, or specific guidance on aspects like facilitation payments and gift thresholds within the anti-corruption policies, are not provided.
Kind to Animals
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BayWa states that animal welfare is a cornerstone of its identity and acknowledges its responsibility towards animal welfare in its decisions and activities.
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The company supports farmers with products and services for animal welfare, including advice, planning, and construction of animal-friendly stalls, and adjusted feeding and hygiene protocols.
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It has expanded its Bonimal brand for animal welfare and offers herd management consulting for dairy farmers.
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BayWa's subsidiary, BayWa r.e., integrates animal welfare into Agri-PV solutions, providing shade and shelter for animals and enabling eco-friendly grassland management.
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Another subsidiary, agromed Austria GmbH, is committed to healthy, natural, and sustainable pet food.
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Cefetra, part of BayWa, has a program to reward farmers for biodiversity improvements.
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Cefetra is involved in a wildlife corridor project in Argentina with three NGOs.
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T&G Global supports flora and fauna in New Zealand by planting native plants along watercourses.
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Cefetra also participates in EU initiatives related to deforestation-free supply chains.
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However, no specific quantitative data is available to assess metrics such as cruelty-free certifications, alternative testing usage, humane certifications for operations, measurable wildlife conservation impact, ethical input substitution percentages, supplier audit percentages, cage-free sourcing, animal testing policy or volume, or R&D investment in animal-free technologies.
No War, No Weapons
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BayWa AG's Social Responsibility and Human Rights Policy Statement (April 2024) and Supplier Code of Conduct (March 2025) are based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
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,
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BayWa is also a member of the UN Global Compact.
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In 2023, the Social Compliance Management System and complaints procedure were audited by Corporate Audit and the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) with no significant findings.
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The Supplier Code of Conduct requires suppliers to prevent harmful environmental changes, protect health, ensure access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and prohibit unlawful land seizure.
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BayWa conducts human rights and environmental risk analyses on a regular basis, identifying 67 risks in its own business and 412 in the supply chain in 2023, with priority reviews based on industry and country risks planned for 2024.
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BayWa r.e. (a subsidiary) conducts annual reporting on identified human rights and environmental risks.
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Planet-Friendly Business
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In 2023, the company's total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions were 36.5 million tonnes CO₂e.
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100% of the company's group-wide electricity supply was sourced from renewables in 2023.
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Water withdrawal in 2023 was 957,580 cubic meters, equating to approximately 39.9 m³ per €1 million revenue.
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The waste diversion rate was 41% in 2023.
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93.0% of capital expenditure was aligned with the EU Sustainable Taxonomy in 2023.
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The company has a net-zero target for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, supported by interim GHG reduction targets of 22% by 2025.
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The company received an "AA" rating for TCFD alignment.
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The company is involved in minimal pilot projects for biodiversity restoration at specific sites, such as a natural flower meadow in Poland
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and a solar plant in Spain.
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Respect for Cultures & Communities
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The company reported no cultural appropriation incidents.
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For one construction project, 50 out of 114 full-time equivalent jobs (43.86%) were generated in the local economy.
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The company provides a human rights grievance mechanism accessible to all workers and external stakeholders, and its whistleblower system is available in ten languages, covering the markets and languages of operation.
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However, the company does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples' rights or land rights of local communities, despite operating in areas where this may be applicable.
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Safe & Smart Tech
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Authentication security for the sensitive whistleblower system relies on user IDs and passwords, with no mention of multi-factor authentication (MFA) options.
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Data minimization practices are limited, with retention periods for some personal data, such as hired applicant data, extending up to 30 years, and general legal retention periods up to 8 years.
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While some data (e.g., video monitoring, whistleblower system data, rejected applicant data) have much shorter retention periods (days to months), and the whistleblower system allows anonymous use, the very long retention for certain data types indicates significant gaps in minimization. Conversely, BayWa AG demonstrates an exemplary compliance program, explicitly adhering to a wide array of privacy and other regulations including GDPR, BDSG 2018, NIS directive, Whistleblower Protection Act, CSRD, EU Taxonomy, and numerous other German and EU laws.
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,
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The Corporate ESG Compliance department informs the Board of Management twice a year on legal changes and implementation of requirements, and BayWa r.e. advises operators on their compliance responsibilities.
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,
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Users are afforded comprehensive data control rights, including information, correction, deletion, restriction of processing, data portability, and objection, consistent across BayWa AG and its subsidiaries.
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,
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The company also holds an ISO 27001 security standard certification.
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Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
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BayWa Group recycled 41% of its waste in 2023.
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In 2023, 4,878 tonnes of hazardous waste were recycled, while 892 tonnes were professionally disposed of.
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The company states that a large majority of components in its PV, wind, and insulation products are designed to be recyclable, with 1,220.12 tonnes of PV modules recycled in 2024.
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Packaging guidelines for solar panel wholesale were updated to reduce plastic and increase recycled paper, and plastic-free options like cellulose nets or FSC-certified cardboard are offered for organic products.
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BayWa has implemented several waste reduction initiatives, including a green IT project in 2023, a project to optimize packaging materials, promoting revamping and repowering services for renewable energy sites, adding a lubricant recycling line, and building a bioenergy plant for food waste.
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,
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Circular design principles are integrated into the planning of wind and solar projects and applied in the Agricultural Equipment business unit, which includes repair, refurbishment, and second-hand sales.
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Disposal instructions are provided to customers, and efforts are made to sensitize them to sustainable product application and disposal.
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BayWa aims to continuously reduce waste and increase recycling, with targets set at group or entity level, but specific group-wide waste reduction targets with timelines are not publicly defined.
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