Gebr Heinemann calls for industry action on sustainability as it publishes new report
Gebr Heinemann’s third CSR report “provides insights into an exciting but also challenging journey towards greater sustainability in travel retail”
Gebr Heinemann, the family-run global duty free operator, has published its third Corporate Responsibility Report detailing its CSR policy.
Announcing the publication, the company said it is demanding “an equally strong commitment from our suppliers and business partners”.
The third CSR report “provides insights into an exciting but also challenging journey towards greater sustainability in travel retail”, the German operator said in a press release.
Based on the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative, the Corporate Responsibility Report guides the reader through the ideas and solutions the company has identified and realized in the commercial, workplace and environmental areas.
Kay Spanger, Chief Commercial Officer, Gebr Heinemann, called for industry action on setting standards across the entire supply chain.
He said: “Our credo is ‘Shaping the future of sustainable travel retail’. We have to be ambitious and bold by contributing to the UN goals. The 10 principles of the UN Global Compact are very significant guidelines for our everyday balancing act: operating a successful business by carefully reflecting on every economic decision, environmental and social risks and the opportunities.
“We are inspired by those who are ahead of us. And we need to demand an equally strong commitment from our suppliers and business partners. This means sitting together at one table and setting standards along our value chain and across all categories represented in the Heinemann shopping baskets.”
Gebr Heinemann highlights several initiatives in its CSR report:
In August 2018, Gebr Heinemann joined the United Nations Global Compact and committed to make its 10 principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption a core part of the company’s corporate strategy.
In the area of environmental protection, the company’s activities span office materials procurement according to environmental criteria and the Ecoprofit certification of the corporate headquarters. In addition, hi-tech solutions have been introduced at the logistics centers that contribute to energy and emission savings, including Tesla Semi all-electric trucks, which will be used by the company’s Norwegian joint venture Travel Retail Norway.
In human resources management, priorities include the review of social standards at the company’s international sites and with strategic partners (based on OHSAS, ISO and ILO standards) and the extension of professional development programs.
At its retail locations, initiatives range from promoting the region through local designs and products in close cooperation with local partners, reducing plastic bags, saving shop design materials, and supporting innovative approaches such as the European Travel Retail Confederation’s ETRC digital off-pack labeling solution.
“The Heinemann Way”
Sustainability has many facets at Gebr Heinemann due to the company’s global reach, with business operations in more than 100 countries in the complex travel environment.
The company also brings together different cultures, views and opinions. “This offers immense opportunities but is also challenging,” said the firm.
It continued: “The company will do it ‘The Heinemann Way’ by constantly rethinking themselves and its approach to sustainability. Gebr Heinemann is committed to playing a leading role in sustainability. This is guided by the principle that the art of operating a successful business consists in carefully weighing up every economic decision against the associated environmental and social risks and opportunities.”
Dr Jennifer Cords, Director Corporate Affairs at Gebr Heinemann, concluded: “We are looking very much forward to be on this exciting journey together with our colleagues, partners and travelers around the world. We are aware that the corporate responsibility initiatives documented in our CR Report are just the beginning. While highlighting what has already been achieved we are also very clear about naming what still needs to be done. We will take small steps first to have a successful journey towards greater sustainability in travel retail.”
The new CSR report, titled “Think and Rethink – Corporate Responsibility Initiatives at Gebr Heinemann”, can be downloaded at: https://we.tl/t-6Ly7hw7v8X
About Gebr Heinemann
As a distributor, Gebr Heinemann supplies more than 1,000 customers in over 100 countries. In the retail sector, the company operates more than 340 Heinemann Duty Free & Travel Value shops, fashion label boutiques under license and concept shops at 74 airports in 28 countries, along with shops at border crossings and aboard cruise liners.
The Heinemann Duty Free brand is present at numerous airports worldwide, and its biggest airport duty free shop is in Sydney.
In total, the retail operation serves more than 40 million customers across more than 150,000 square meters of retail space every year.
The company is managed by cousins Claus and Gunnar Heinemann and Gunnar’s son and CEO Max Heinemann, the fourth and fifth generation of the family to run the business.
Gebr Heinemann has more than 8,000 employees around the world.
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