Hamburg, 13 October 2025 — EDEKA and Netto Marken-Discount are taking a new step in how supermarkets handle climate protection. The two retailers have joined forces with four dairies and several farms to create a system that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions in milk production.
The focus is on dairies that make private-label items for GUT&GÜNSTIG and EDEKA Herzstücke. The idea is to build something that works on real farms, not just on paper — a method other food producers can later copy. EDEKA says the plan is to fill a gap in the German market, where many one-off projects exist but no clear, shared system to measure or compare results.
Markus Mosa, CEO of EDEKA ZENTRALE Stiftung & Co. KG, said the project is about making climate work practical. “What starts today as a pilot project will become the benchmark for the industry tomorrow,” he noted in the announcement.
The work will begin with fresh milk, UHT milk, cheese, curd, and butter suppliers. For each product, an evaluation system will look at how farms can cut emissions — through better feed efficiency, improved animal health, and soil and biomass management that increases CO₂ storage. Each farm’s conditions will be reviewed so the measures make sense locally.
The EDEKA Group calls this a model for future food retail. It’s meant to connect what happens in the supermarket with what happens on the farm. Both EDEKA and Netto will use the findings to guide their private-label suppliers in the coming years.
Climate Target: Net Zero By 2045
This project fits into the group’s wider climate plan. EDEKA and Netto were the first German food retailers to align with the Science Based Targets Initiative. Their aim is to reach net zero by 2045, cutting emissions across the chain by 90 percent — including 72 percent of emissions from agriculture.
By starting in the dairy sector, one of the hardest areas to decarbonize, the retailers hope to show that progress is possible through cooperation. What begins as a small trial could set a new benchmark for the entire industry, shaping how supermarkets and farms work together for a lower-carbon future.
