Our Recipe for the Future: Dr. Oetker Sustainability Report 2023/2024

Bielefeld, June 2025 – Under the title ‘Our Recipe for the Future’, the Dr. Oetker Sustainability Report 2023/2024 summarizes the progress, goals and challenges of the company Dr. Oetker in terms of sustainability and social commitment in accordance with the GRI standard. Particularly noteworthy are the steps we have taken to protect the climate: our SBTi Commitment, a project to use renewable energy in our production and a Climate Supplier Program. The same applies to our progress in avoiding food waste and purchasing more sustainable raw materials.

"Our aim is to be part of the solution – for the future of our planet and for everyone who calls it home," says Carl Oetker, Chairman of the Dr. Oetker Management Board, setting out the com-pany's ambition. "We know that the biggest challenges – from climate to equity – don’t stop at the borders of one company. That’s why we’re actively looking to work more closely with others across the value chain: with suppliers, with peers, with researchers and NGOs. I’m sure that, together, we can drive more sustainable packaging concepts, cultivate ingredients in a smarter way – and make the most sustainable choices also the most indulgent ones," adds Claudia Willvonseder, responsible for sustainability as a member of the Executive Board.

Our Food – our products

We are constantly working to support our consumers in maintaining a balanced diet and a more sustainable lifestyle: With constantly evolving products that contain less salt and sugar and therefore have better nutritional properties. With more sustainable ingredients and ever more enjoyable plant-based product alternatives that are better for our planet. But we will never change one thing: The great taste of our products that always turn out well.

• Share knowledge transparently: Nutritional labels such as Nutri-Score and NutrInform are increasingly being supplemented with recycling and product information. We can calculate the product carbon footprints of our products semi-automatically and will test how we can best communicate these in the next step.

• More balanced and sustainable products: On the way to our goal of reducing the sales-weighted average to 1g salt/100g pizza, we have already reduced the salt content in our pizzas to 1.06g/100g by 2024. Numerous cakes and desserts in our national companies contain less sugar. In addition to vegan innovations, our classics with vegan preparation instructions are increasingly on the shelves.

Our World: for the environment and society:

We are actively committed to protecting the climate and want to use natural resources responsibly. For us, this means lower CO₂ emissions, less waste, more sustainable raw materials and deforestation-free supply chains as well as a careful use of the valuable resource of water.

• Climate protection: We have committed to SBTi and want to be net zero by 2050. By 2030, we want to be able to produce pizza using renewable energy only. A little later this should also apply to our cake and dessert production. 81% of our corporate carbon footprint is caused by the raw materials, finished goods and packaging that we purchase - our Climate Supplier Program aims to reduce emissions here.

• Reduce food waste: By 2025, our production should generate 25% less food waste, which we are currently avoiding quite successfully. In 2024, we had 20.6% less food waste in our cake and dessert production than in 2021, and 35.0% less in pizza production compared to 2019.

• Making packaging more sustainable: Our pizza packaging is already fully recyclable if the folding box and film are disposed of separately. Overall, 86.5% of our packaging will be recyclable by the end of 2024 (excluding co-packers and Tunisia due to the data situation). We are also continuously working on using less material: For example, we have made the film for our pizzas thinner worldwide and are saving 14% material.

• Sustainability in our supply chains worldwide: In 2024, 92% of our raw materials were no longer at risk of high deforestation - we are currently working on the remaining 8%. 96% of our palm oil was sourced RSPO-certified in 2024. We use almost exclusively (93%) Rainforest Alliance-certified cocoa, 91% MSC tuna (in 2025 it will be 100%) and 63% chicken meat according to the criteria of the European Chicken Commitment (in Europe). From 2025, we will also purchase Rainforest Alliance-certified hazelnuts and are working on a target for sustainable vanilla, which was 13% certified in 2024.

Our Company: Diversity as an opportunity

We are proud of our diverse workforce and are actively committed to diversity and equal opportunities. We firmly believe that our different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds promote a corporate culture that drives innovation. We are open to new and sustainable ideas that will lead us successfully into the future. And we are delighted that 14,480 employees worldwide are travelling this path together.

• Safety in the workplace: From the end of 2025, around 10,000 employees at the 26 internally qualified production sites will be working with an occupational health and safety management system that complies with the internationally recognized ISO 45001 certification standard.

• Living wages: For us, fair pay means that our employees receive a living wage that en-ables them to enjoy a decent standard of living and quality of life. Every two years, we compare our wages globally on the basis of data collected by the NGO ‘Fair Wage Network’ on living wages. In most countries, we have already achieved this standard of a ‘Living Wage Employer’ - in the few others, we have taken measures.

• Guarantee equality and promote diversity: We firmly believe that a diverse, international and inclusive corporate culture is the key to better decisions, more meaningful innovation and more sustainable action. That is why we at Dr. Oetker want to be as diverse as the people who buy our products. We promote this attitude with numerous internal events and communications.

• Zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination and harrassment and the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining are also a matter of course for us.

Social commitment: Because communities are close to our hearts

In addition to numerous local activities by the national companies, such as food donations, we regularly support SOS Children's Villages. In 2024, 17 national companies supported this.

‘Creating a taste of home’ is our Dr. Oetker purpose, which we fill with life with our sustainability activities.

Read more in our Dr. Oetker Sustainability Report 2023/2024.

For questions please contact: