Sustainability Report 2023
Hear from our CEO
At zooplus, we believe in celebrating pet love every day. And our community of 1,200 colleagues is not just passionate about providing the best possible care for pets; we are also committed to protecting the planet they call home and support the people who take care of them. This is why we have made both social and environmental stewardship a core part of our mission. From sourcing eco-friendly products or implementing energy-efficient practices to giving back to the communities we operate in: we believe that the only way forward is to take care of pets, people and planet simultaneously.
With the zooplus 2023 paw print update on our actions and our achievements in giving back, championing a healthy planet and advocating for diversity, we want to outline the impact we have driven in the past year. We want to show where we have left a positive mark, driving change for a better tomorrow, and where we have been working on minimising our paw print for the same reason.
As a proud member of the Pet Sustainability Coalition since 2021, zooplus is committed to implementing sustainable business practices that minimise our impact on the environment and the communities where we do business. We believe sustainability is a critical component of a successful business strategy and are proud to show how we are taking steps towards a more durable future for our customers and the pets they love.
Geoffroy Lefebrve, CEO
Celebrating pet love every day
Our passion at zooplus lies in celebrating pet love every day. While you take care of your cherished companions, we are here to take care of any concerns or doubts you might have: Love your pet, trust us with the rest.
Our profound expertise, diverse skillset and extensive network empower us to deliver exceptional care, ensuring your pet is always in the best hands.
10.9 million
Almost 11 million pet parents chose zooplus as their trusted go-to partner for any pet care essentials. We estimate that we brought joy and happiness to more than 7 million cats, close to 4 million dogs and countless rodents, birds, fish and horses in the past year.
30 countries
Through our 40 online shops, we serve the needs of our furry friends in 30 different countries across Europe. From Greece to Norway and Portugal to Romania - we make sure your loved ones are well taken care of.
24 years
Since our beginnings in 1999, we have gained over 2 decades of expertise in both e-commerce and pet supplies. This extensive knowledge empowers us to continuously innovate and to keep on making pets happy every day.
16,000 products
In 2023, we significantly expanded our product range to more than 16,000 items for dogs, cats, rodents, birds, fish and horses. Whether you are looking for food, treats, toys, accessories or nutritional supplements, zooplus has got you covered.
900 pets
In addition to our passionate team of 1,200 pet enthusiasts, we are proud to also count around 900 pet family members. This includes more than 100 office dogs, who bring smiles and laughter to our workplace every day.
Giving back to pets and people
Driven by our unwavering commitment to helping those less fortunate, we have made significant donations to charitable causes throughout 2023, totalling more than € 1.6 million.
zoopoints
Our loyalty program zoopoints empowers our customers to make a direct impact on animal welfare by donating to animal shelters. Through our customers’ the incredible support, more than € 1.2 million have been donated to 125 different animal shelters.
zoolove
Our zoolove brand is committed to giving back to the community by donating 10% of revenues to animal welfare organizations. In 2023, we supported over 50 animal shelters across Europe, including specialized organisations like hedgehog sanctuaries and community-based shelters.
Special charity events
In addition to extending a special helping paw on World Animal Day, we also provided support to charities after the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In total, we supported these and other exceptional causes with more than € 100,000.
In-kind donations
Throughout 2023, we aided local animal shelters by directly donating pet food, treats, toys, and other essentials to enhance the lives of animals in care. Our Italian fulfilment centre alone contributed over 60 tons of these donations in the past year.
Our teams demonstrated vigorous social stewardship through various volunteering events, generously donating their time, energy and a tremendous amount of passion.
Shelter support
We dedicated time and work during 4 shelter assisting in anything from cleaning aviaries, trimming trees or walking shelter dogs. And of course, we provided our companionship to the pets onsite, awaiting their future forever homes.
Sponsorship of charity events
We amplified our love for animals by backing pet charity events. Our sponsorships, notably at the Budapest charity event, brought immense joy to our furry companions, who were delighted with our yummy snacks and entertaining to
Other charity organizations
Our dedication to social causes extends beyond animal shelters into projects not primarily involving pets: Last year, we volunteered at the Stern Day Centre for homeless people in Vienna and participated in Red Cross blood donations in Madrid.
Charity runs and fundraisers
Our teams took part in 5 charity runs over the course of 2023, amounting to 34 colleagues running more than 200 kilometres for a good cause. The Krakow team raised further support by taking part in a charity concert and auction.
Championing a healthy planet
Decarbonisation
We are taking a holistic approach to lowering our carbon footprint by thoroughly measuring it, cutting emissions throughout our operations, and using carbon credits for compensating emissions.
1. Measure
We measure our carbon footprint according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, giving us a clear understanding of our emission hotspots. Over 95% of emissions originate from our supply chain, primarily from the manufacturing and transportation of the goods we sell.¹
2. Reduce
By optimizing our delivery routes, we have saved over 1,200 tons of CO2. Additionally, our new data centre is 70% more energy-efficient, and 8 out of 10 our office locations are already powered by 100% renewable energy, a crucial step towards cutting carbon emissions
3. Compensate
We engaged in voluntary carbon avoidance and removal initiatives worldwide to compensate emissions. By investing in 4 different projects using carbon credits, we have compensated or removed more than 16,000 tons of carbon dioxide in 2023.²
¹ Latest calculation based on 2022.
² Our full project portfolio is accessible online.
Circularity
In e-commerce, circularity is key to sustainable business practices. We lower our environmental footprint by reducing, reusing and recycling materials, which enables us to decrease waste and conserve finite resources at the same time.
1. Reduce
Innovative upgrades in our warehouse technology have helped us considerably reduce the amount of packaging material needed for each parcel. For instance, we have decreased the use of tape by 15% and filling material by more than 20%.
2. Reuse
With a return rate below 1%, a very small number of returns reaches our warehouses. We carefully check these items for refurbishment and recondition them whenever possible, giving them a new lease on life. For the same reason, we had 375 laptops refurbished for further use beyond zooplus last year.
3. Recycle
Already today, 95% of our shipping cartons and 100% of our filling material are crafted from fully recycled content. We have also transitioned to new tape for our parcels, made from 85% recycled PET bottles. And we have introduced recyclable packaging for products in our Own Brands Wolf of Wilderness and Wild Freedom.
Advocating for diversity and inclusion
At zooplus, we firmly believe that a diverse workforce of individuals with different backgrounds and perspectives fosters a culture of creativity and innovation. That is why we place great emphasis on strengthening a diverse and inclusive environment for everyone.
Diversity in action
We take enormous pride in having a workforce that is equally balanced between women and men, with women accounting for 50% of our employees. Our strong representation of women in leadership positions, an overall share of 40%, demonstrates our commitment to providing equal opportunities for all.
Additionally, we highly value cultural diversity, with our workforce of 1,200 employees representing 74 different nationalities.
zoofemme for gender equality
Our internal women´s empowerment group zoofemme puts tremendous efforts in strengthening gender equality beyond the status quo.
Driven by the voluntary commitment of the passionate zoofemme founders and ambassadors, the group went above and beyond in 2023 to organise networking and educational events for women in our workforce, inspiring talks by prominent female leaders and participation in the herCAREER job expo - amounting to an impressive 8 organised events in total.
Pride in the zoo for LGBTQ rights
Our employee-driven internal LGBTQ network Pride in the zoo campaigns for LGBTQ rights. The team has organised various events across our offices to advocate for inclusion and emphasise the importance of diversity.
Additionally, we collaborate with LGBTQ organisations such as Hosi Wien and have implemented robust antidiscrimination policies to ensure a safe and welcoming business environment.
Charting the course for a sustainable future
Our 2023 paw print update shows our unwavering commitment to social and environmental stewardship. Yet, while we are proud of our accomplishments, we know there is always more we can do, and we invite you to embark on this journey with us.
We have high ambitions for the coming years, starting with the fierce continuation of our unwavering support for animal welfare organisations, the cornerstone of our sustainability ethos.
In addition to our strong dedication to animal well-being, we are devoted to placing even greater emphasis on fostering a diverse and inclusive environment, where everyone feels valued and respected. To address our environmental responsibility, we have initiated the evaluation of science-based carbon reduction targets to guide our decarbonisation efforts. This will encompass further renewable energy adoption, enhanced efficiency in IT and logistics and intensified circularity practices related to our packaging.
Both decarbonisation and circularity play a crucial role in expanding our assortment to include more sustainable choices, building upon our current sustainable selection that ranges from plant-based cat litter, to vegetarian food and snacks, to toys made from recycled materials.
We are confident that together, we can make a paw-sitive impact on the world, benefiting pets, people and our planet.
