Since 2016, REMA 1000 has opened over 50 eco-friendly stores. The stores are developed in collaboration with the architectural firm Snøhetta and the research institute SINTEF, using up to 50 per cent less energy than other stores. Additionally, REMA 1000 has invested in Norway's largest single purchase of solar panels for its new distribution centre at Vinterbro outside of Oslo.

Norsk Kylling, which produces the Solvinge brand for REMA 1000 Norway, has built a new facility, setting a new environmental standard. The facility achieves zero emissions through the use of waste heat from smelters, electrification, innovative energy storage solutions, and smart controls.

In 2023, REMA 1000 Denmark purchased 30 electric lorries. This means that 25 per cent of deliveries will be made using electric vehicles in 2024. Previously, REMA 1000 Denmark eliminated all goods transported by air, replacing them with more environmentally friendly transported goods.

By the beginning of 2024, we will have switched more than half of REMA 1000 Norway's vehicle fleet to electric or biogas lorries, and our goal is to have replaced all lorries by the end of 2026. All transport will be eco-friendly by 2030.

We have systematically worked to shift our transport from road to rail and annually send around 10,000 trailers by train from Oslo, which alone means a reduction in CO2 emissions of 30,000 tonnes annually. Over 80 per cent of these trailers return fully loaded by train to Oslo.

We are continuously working to make more of the energy we use and sell for road transport renewable. In 2021, Uno-X eMobility was established to install Uno-X ultrafast chargers for passenger cars at locations where Reitan Retail operates. Our ultrafast EV charging network is constantly expanding, and by the end of 2023, we had established 184 charging stations in Norway and Denmark.

In 2023, Uno-X Mobility and REMA 1000 Norway opened our first ultrafast charger for heavy-duty vehicles at REMA's distribution centre in Vinterbro, with more to be established across Norway and Denmark. The new charging station is also available to external transport companies, enabling us to assist smaller carriers in transitioning to electric transport.

Since 2021, Uno-X Mobility has rolled out more than 75 car washes with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel in Norway and Denmark. The car washes use environmentally certified detergents that are gentler on our health and the environment, and the wastewater is about 90 per cent cleaner of oil and heavy metals, reducing the risk of hazardous spills into the environment.

By cleaning and reusing most of the water without compromising the quality of the wash, water consumption has been reduced from 400 to 90 litres per car. Uno-X's commitment to eco-labelled car washing was awarded the Nordic Swan Ecolabel Award in Norway in 2023.

Since 2018, REMA 1000 Norway has cut over 1500 tonnes of plastic. The goal is to use exclusively sustainable packaging by reducing packaging where we can, using more recycled material, designing for recycling, and developing new packaging solutions.

REMA 1000 also helped establish The Norwegian Retailers Environment Fund. Here, a portion of the bag sales goes directly to environmental causes. The projects range from research and development, cleaning, technology, and recycling to awareness work.

REMA 1000 Denmark was the first Danish grocery chain to partner with the organisation Stop Spild Af Mad in 2008, aiming to combat food waste. Among other things, they were advised to stop offering quantity discounts on food items. They adopted this advice and have since offered the same low price regardless of the number of items.

Since 2014, REMA 1000 Norway has labelled several fish, chicken, and meat products with the shelf-life indicator Keep-it. The indicator shows how long the food is good for. In addition, prices are reduced on items approaching their expiry date. The goal of both initiatives is to waste less food.

In 2021, we launched PBX. The ambition is to create the world's most sustainable convenience store. PBX will have a positive footprint on the environment, society, and the economy, refusing products like cigarettes, palm oil, seafood from threatened stocks, and products with harmful additives.

PBX is a laboratory where innovative services and more sustainable products are tested before launching in other stores. The projects and initiatives will be based on research, data, and continuous testing of products and services. Read more about PBX here.

Instead of throwing away the leftover coffee grounds in our "living lab" PBX, we've used them to develop an entirely new product. The coffee grounds are used to brew a spiced chai-flavoured kombucha. This way, we can give new life to the coffee bean while retaining its rich taste and functionality.

From 2024, Pressbyrån and 7-Eleven in Sweden offer reusable coffee cups and food packaging in selected stores. In Norway, Kjeldsberg coffee roastery has launched a new product series in 100 per cent recyclable packaging, achieving a CO2 reduction of 68 per cent.

In 2024, Reitan Retail partnered with Norgesmøllene, Felleskjøpet Agri, and Yara to produce bread with a lower carbon footprint. With innovative technology and more sustainable practices, we aim to reduce emissions throughout the value chain, from fertiliser production to the finished product.

The first attempt will be to make a healthy and tasty oat bread, which we hope will be available in REMA 1000 stores by the end of 2025. We aim for the oats used in the bread to have a 25 to 30 per cent lower carbon footprint than regular oats.

In 2023, we formed the Future Advisory Board, asking others to challenge us to think new and more responsibly. Our own Birgit Skarstein led a panel of seven independent, strong, Nordic voices. For one year, the members deliberated what actions we could take in the coming years to become more sustainable.

The panel gave five great suggestions for what we can do, and we have already promised to implement at least one of them. The plan is also to repeat the challenge with new advisory boards.