We set strict requirements for all our suppliers, built on the principles of Ethical Trade Norway, UN declarations, and OECD's guidelines for responsible business conduct. Among other things, we have zero tolerance for child labour, discrimination, and corruption. Additionally, requirements are set for fair wages, health, safety, and environmental considerations.

In 2023, Reitan Convenience Sweden launched additional sustainability requirements, covering areas such as palm oil, certified cocoa, local meat production, and environmentally friendly packaging.

Understanding the value chains we're part of and assessing risks and opportunities is something we work on every day. Many of our suppliers operate in countries and industries with a high risk of corruption, undignified working conditions, and lack of freedom of association. Therefore, risk mapping and follow-up are continuous and very important tasks in all our four business areas.

For example, in 2023, Reitan Convenience mapped the origin of all high-risk goods across our brands. The mapping helps set the direction for further work on responsibility in the value chain.

In 2024, Reitan Retail entered a collaboration 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 food product. The first goal is to cultivate oats with a reduced carbon footprint of 25 to 30 per cent.

Norsk Kylling has worked purposefully to reduce emissions for several years and won the business climate award "Næringslivets klimapris" in 2023. The award is a collaboration between ZERO (Zero Emission Resource Organisation), NHO (Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise), and NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology). It is given to companies that have achieved good results and lead the way in the green transition.

REMA 1000 Norway participates in the agricultural sector's eco-boost, the entire agricultural sector's effort to increase organic production. The brand Kolonihagen is REMA 1000 Norway's spearhead for organic and more sustainable quality products. Kolonihagen won "Matprisen" (the food award) in 2023.

REMA 1000 Denmark is a co-owner of Gram Slot, Denmark's largest organic farm. Together, they share the value that organic products should be accessible and affordable to everyone. The organic quality products from Gram Slot are exclusively available at REMA 1000 Denmark and cover a wide range of nearly 50 products. In addition to owning Gram Slot, we have a strategic partnership with the organic association Organic Denmark, which helps us analyse customer behaviour and our assortment and develop initiatives that promote the sale of organic products in our store

In the Baltics, our café chain, Caffeine, was the first in its industry in 2022 to offer only organically certified coffee to our customers.

In 2022, Norsk Kylling became the first industrial producer in the world to deliver chicken certified according to the ECC standard (European Chicken Commitment). ECC is a new, strict standard for animal welfare developed by the world's leading animal welfare organisations, requiring a slower-growing type of chicken, more space, natural light, and third-party control. This has earned the company praise from animal rights activists.

In both 2023 and 2024, Norwegian consumers named Solvinge Norway's most sustainable brand for chicken. The Sustainable Brand Index conducts the survey, where 13,000 consumers rank brands in two main areas: environmental and social responsibility.

In 2023, Norsk Kylling received an A in animal welfare from the research organisation Animalia. The audit looked at how animal welfare is considered in barns, transport, and the factory, as well as the routines for recording and following up on deviations.

REMA 1000 Denmark is a strategic partner with Animal Protection Denmark, and together, we work to promote animal welfare among the suppliers of our animal products.

In 2015, we entered a collaboration with the Norwegian Animal Protection Alliance. This has boosted our competence, especially in chicken production. At REMA 1000 Norway, we also sell several organic pork products with the animal welfare certification "Dyrevernmerket", developed by the Norwegian Animal Protection Alliance. The purpose is to contribute to animal welfare beyond the legal minimum requirements.

In Denmark, 7-Eleven is the first convenience chain to enter a collaboration with the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration's animal welfare certification. The animal welfare mark aims to improve the welfare of pigs, chickens, and cattle.

In 2018, Norsk Kylling switched to the slower-growing chicken type Hubbard. REMA 1000 thus became the first grocery chain in Norway to offer an alternative to the most common, fast-growing type. Hubbard grows slower, lives longer, and has documented better animal welfare than the chicken most produced in Norway.

Research shows that chickens that grow slower have 59 per cent less disease and 86 per cent fewer heart conditions. Many fast-growing chickens suffer from heart failure because they grow too fast, and they suffer unnecessarily, become sick, and cannot be used as food.

for animal welfare in the first phase of the chicken's life. The new hatchery uses the HatchCare hatching technology. Unlike the standard Norwegian practice, the chickens receive light, water, and feed immediately after hatching. The chicken also remains in the same hatching box until it's placed in the barn with the farmer.

The hatchery is also a zero-emission building, with solar panels on walls and roofs and a solution that recycles heat from the eggs in the hatchery. The hatchery also has circular solutions for eggshells and other waste, so the chickens are transported with biogas produced from their own waste.