Dear stakeholders,

Sustainable development takes a central place in our strategy of corporate development. In our conception, it consists of a range balanced activities in particular fields of social responsibility, environment protection, and economic sustainability. Our decision to take the path of socially responsible and sustainable operation dates back many years. We made our own sustainability commitments and laid down specific measurable goals in many areas.
Our sustainable projects are carried out to promote energy efficiency and to save natural resources. We are maintaining comprehensive control of our impacts on the environment, and we are systematically reducing the amount of waste and emissions. We work in a constructive manner with our suppliers to develop new products. We guarantee safety and quality of products for our customers to whom we provide information to raise their awareness. We provide neat and safe working conditions for our employees and contribute to the development of our local environment. We are highly attentive to both the most important social issues and individuals. Our operations are transparent and compliant with the highest business standards; we treat all stakeholders equally. Therefore, the European Business Award presented to Mercator for corporate sustainability in 2011 was very important to us. We firmly believe that as one of the largest enterprises in the region, we are in a position to contribute a lot to sustainable trade. We are, however, aware that permanent and indeed sustainable results for the generations to come can only be attained through integration and cooperation. We all share the responsibility for our future.

Žiga Debeljak, MScBA
President of the Management Board

We are systematically establishing a relation to our natural environment through energy-efficient construction or refurbishment of stores and office buildings, efficient use of energy, and careful waste management, as well as by thoughtful consideration of other relevant aspects. We provide sustainable logistics and we proactively convey the right information and present our environmentally friendly offer to our customers.

Lowering the index of specific power consumption 2011/2010 for Mercator, d.d., to 98.23, or reducing the power consumption by 4.29 kWh/m2.
Reducing the index of specific carbon dioxide emission of fuels for 2011/2010 at Mercator, d.d., to 97.65, or reducing the emission by 3.42 kgCO2/m2.
Installing covers and doors on refrigeration equipment in 29 selected stores.
Replacement of existing fluorescent lamps with LED luminaires in lightboxes with Mercator's visual identity on seven commercial facilities.
Installing equipment for combined heat and power generation at five retail facilities.

Apart from climate change, reduction of specific consumption of fuels for heating was also affected by measures implemented to improve the efficiency of the use of energy, such as closing the refrigeration chests, cabinets, and counters, and introduction of organizational measures according to the adopted manual. Hot water costs were also cut by installing the combined heat and power (or co-generation) equipment.

Specific consumption of energy sources
Specific consumption (per m2) Mercator Group Mercator, d.d.
Electrical energy (kWh/m2) 254.93 237.91
Heating oil (L/m2) 1.62 2.61
Natural gas (m3/m2) 3.89 3.04
LPG (Liquefied petroleum gas) (m3/m2) 0.05 0.12
LNG (Liquefied natural gas) (L/m2) 0.22 0.47
District heating (kWh/m2) 4.11 2.88
Carbon dioxide emissions (kg CO2/m2) 148.48 141.99

Targeted monitoring of power consumption at the company Poslovni sistem Mercator, d.d., has grown in importance in recent years as it represents the largest environmental cost. Specific consumption of electrical energy (as presented in the graph below) was cut by 1.77% in 2011 relative to 2010, or by 4.29 kWh/m2, as a result of the measures for efficient use of energy such as closing of refrigeration chests, cabinets, and counters, replacement of conventional lamps with LED fixtures in Mercator visual identity lightboxes, and other organizational measures according to the adopted Manual on Efficient Energy Use at the stores of Poslovni sistem Mercator, d.d.

The table below presents a comparison between power consumption and specific power consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for the company Poslovni sistem Mercator, d.d., for the comparable periods of 2010 and 2011.

2011 2010 Index2011/2010 Difference in consumption
Electrical energy
(kWh) 174,700,250 183,891,081 95.00 -9,190,831
Specific power consumption (kWh/m2)237.91 242.20 98.23 -4.29
Carbon dioxide emissions
(tons of CO2) 104,265 110,403 94.44 -6,138
Specific carbon dioxide emissions per square meter (kg CO2/m2) 141.99 145.41 97.65 -3.42