Our action fields

A skilled, effective and committed workforce is the basis for our business success and for the further development of our group. As an employer in rather rural regions, demographic change can be a challenge for us. To position ourselves as an attractive employer for the future, we regularly question our offers and react to the requirements of the current job market.

We succeed in being an attractive and responsible employer by taking care of the different concerns and interests of our employees. We offer interesting tasks, an attractive working environment and attach great importance to a good work-life balance, competitive and gender-blind compensation, and a good working atmosphere.

To ensure success and motivation for all, we qualify our employees and promote their development. We do this by offering high-quality training of young professionals and active support for further training and further qualification of our workforce.

We support the principle of co-determination as a way of promoting mutual appreciation and good cooperation between employees and the company’s management. All employees are regularly informed of current developments. The interests of employees are upheld by works councils and their various committees and by the employee representatives on the Supervisory Board of Berentzen-Gruppe AG. At the group’s senior management level, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board work closely together as the highest-ranking decision-making bodies.

Social engagement is an integral aspect of our corporate culture and our understanding of values. This is how we strive to make our contribution to sustainable social progress.

You can find additional information on the People action field in our latest Sustainability Report.

We place great value on preserving for future generations the natural resources on which life depends. We make our contribution to sustainable development by continuously improving our performance and constantly learning. We take responsibility for environmentally friendly production in all areas of our group. And we consider it our duty to make every effort to minimise the effects of our business activity on the environment and society.

With our sustainability strategy and the "Hundred percent resource efficiency" objective, we are placing an even stronger focus on resource efficiency. The reduction of negative environmental impacts through economical and careful use of all resources is essential to preserve the natural basis of life for future generations.

As an operator of mineral springs, we know how precious water is as a resource. We therefore attach great importance to sustainable use. Although water is not scarce at our production facilities, the resource-conserving use of the group’s own springs minimises environmental impacts and preserves the basis for beverage production over the long term.

Emissions of climate-harming greenhouse gases resulting from the use of energy represent a major ecological impact of our business activity. We use the primary energy sources of heating oil, natural gas and electricity to generate the required forms of energy such as steam, heat and compressed air. We have introduced an energy management system certified under ISO 50001 to optimise energy consumption and minimise greenhouse gas emissions within the group and are working on the electrification of our corporate vehicle fleet, from forklifts to company cars.

You can find additional information on the Planet action field in our latest Sustainability Report.

We are proud of our products, which provide enjoyment and joie de vivre to consumers. However, excessive consumption of alcoholic and sugary beverages can also have negative effects on the health of consumers. For this reason, we see it as our social duty to advertise and market our products responsibly. In this endeavour, we place the highest priority on transparency.

In addition, we will place a stronger emphasis on developing, producing and distributing natural and healthy products. After all, we would like to develop products that make an appreciable contribution to combining economic success with ecological progress. We strive to achieve this ecological progress in all stages of the value creation process. Therefore, we started to fully offset the CO₂ emissions of our Mio Mio, Emsland Quelle and Märkisch Kristall brands by supporting climate protection projects in 2020. In 2021 we extended the CO₂ compensation to the Emsland Sonne brand, followed by the Sankt Ansgari and Kräuterbraut brands in2022.

Our suppliers have the greatest influence on sustainability issues in the value chain. We cultivate long-term business relationships and trustful dealings with our suppliers. We have also entered into supplier and quality assurance agreements, also in relation to sustainability aspects, with key suppliers. Our Supplier Code establishes a shared understanding of appropriate living and working conditions of employees.

The Supplier Code is aligned with the up-to-date versions of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) Base Code, the Principles of the ILO (International Labour Organisation) and the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact. Our Supplier Code forms the basis for lasting business relationships. By adopting it, we began a process of intensifying the dialog with our suppliers on the subject of sustainability issues. All suppliers are obliged to acknowledge and comply with the supplier code.

By joining the supplier platform SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange), we took another important step to continuously enhance transparency and safety in the supply chain.

You can find additional information on the Products action field in our latest Sustainability Report.