In politically turbulent times, we at fritz-kola loudly share our stance for an open and democratic society. Though our kola is black, we clearly position ourselves on social media, through the press or direct communication, for a diverse and colourful world and support those who create it.

no hate: €20,000  against hate and for an exit from the right.

We have been showing racism the red card for many years already. In 2021, together with recolution and FC St. Pauli, we collected donations of €20,000 for EXIT Germany under the „no hate“ campaign. EXIT Germany accompanies those and their families who want to break away from right-wing ideology and reintegrate into society. The path to a new life has already been paved for over 750 people. Our donations for hate comments under the slogan "two zeros, one with taste" also went to EXIT in October 2020 via the HASS HILFT campaign, among others. Meanwhile, we won the German Brand Award for the slogan. In addition, we supported the flyer service Hahn of the Centre for Political Beauty with an art auction in autumn 2021 and were one of the first companies in Germany to be part of "stop hate for profit " in summer 2020.

For the 2021 federal election, we called on young people in particular to vote with our "manipulate the election" campaign. A total of 4,000 posters, digital screens, banners and the largest election advertising in Germany called on you to cast your vote - with great success, as voter turnout rose to 76.6 %.

Even more colourful campaigns:

• Progress-Special Edition
• "Yellow bottle, brown content“
• bbq-Podcast x fritz-kola
• Memes 4 Humanity
• Start with a Friend

The diversity that we demand in society is also something we promote internally with a cross-divisional "Diversity & Inclusion" team: we signed the Diversity Charter in 2021 and now focus on the key topics of "Women at fritz", "Sexual orientation" and "Origin". In 2021, each team organised a team day where all fritzees dedicated themselves to this topic.

€56,990 for the art and culture scene thanks to our rescue shirts.

We care about places where kola-borators come together, celebrate and engage. Unfortunately, this is exactly what was difficult during the corona pandemic. Together with partners such as Budni, FC St. Pauli, Clubkombinat Hamburg e. V. and Ticketmaster, we collected donations of €56,990 for our kola-borators 2020 with the bar, club and festival rescue shirts. We are also partners of LiveMusikKommission e. V., CLUBCOMMISSION BERLIN E. V. and many other associations within the local cultural scene.  

Perhaps the last place where all of society comes together is the football stadium. That is why we have supported FC St. Pauli for a long time already and the Lions of TSV 1860 München since 2022 as well as AKS ZLY and, since 2020, the roji-negros of CAP Ciudad de Murcia.

The beverage industry is recognised as one of the biggest plastic polluters of all. No wonder, with so many zeros: Over 480,000,000,000 plastic bottles are produced every year. And not a single one came from us in 2020/21 either. Since the founding of fritz-kola, our bottles have steadfastly gone the glass reusable route, because glass bottles can be refilled up to 50 times and then are 100% recyclable - without any loss of quality!

With "Drink from Glass" we are taking the next step: a system change in the entire beverage industry. Since the beginning of 2020, we have been working with wholesalers, retailers, restaurateurs and many other partners to promote the use of reusable glass bottles. As thanks, the German Environmental Aid awarded us the Reusable Innovation Prize. In 2021, we really cleaned up with over 35,000 participants and our partners from the Surfrider Foundation Europe: We freed beaches, lakes and rivers from rubbish during more than 1,000 clean-ups. Good, clean fun.

In the DACH region, we want to continue to offer 100% reusable bottles by 2025 and, of course, still not sell any plastic bottles. We also never deviate from glass internationally, and only vary from reusable in exceptional cases when local deposit schemes and structures, as well as distances make it impossible to collect empties. By the end of 2021, we had delivered exclusively reusable products to our importers in a total of ten countries outside Germany.

Regional production at five locations means short distances and low emissions.

We like to keep our loved ones close, so we produce regionally - which also protects the environment. At the beginning of 2021, we therefore opened a brand-new and highly efficient bottling plant with Alwa Mineralbrunnen in Sersheim, Baden-Württemberg. We also shorten transport routes with our 0.33- and 0.5-litre pool bottles because they are shared by other producers. Our small 0.2-litre bottles are only available in the gastronomy sector and they cause almost no sorting effort. In addition, 100 % of our packaging suppliers were still based in Germany in 2020 and 2021.

We also remain on the reusable side when it comes to our advertising material, because promotional products are often thrown away faster than you can say "sustainable". With our sustainable advertising material, we also help our customers run their bars, cafés and shops in an environmentally friendly way. Our internal advertising material guideline sets the tone, which has become even stricter with the update in 2021: advertising material should be durable, environmentally friendly and recyclable. In addition, we define criteria such as energy efficiency and sustainable certifications. The result: Since August 2021, we have been purchasing 100 % plastic-free chalkboards and have thus almost reached our goal; at the end of 2019, this figure was still at 45 %. At the same time, supply chains were interrupted due to the pandemic in the last two years, so we could not always meet our requirements and we did not reach the target of 100% certified clothing and wood and paper materials. By 2025, we aim to achieve over 95 % sustainable advertising in all five categories.

Our certifications for wood, cardboard and clothing:

• “Forest Stewardship Council“ (FSC)
• “Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification“ (PEFC)
• “Blauer Engel“ (Blue Angel)
• “Global Organic Textile Standard“ (GOTS)
• "EU-Organic-Label"
• “Fair Trade“
• “Fair Wear"

Indicator: We are committed to the UN's 1.5° climate target.

Because all this emitting is rather repulsive, we want to minimise our negative impact on the environment in addition to our commitment against plastic. Therefore, in 2020/21 we introduced the environmental management programme Ecoprofit and set up a climate strategy. Since 2019, we have been determining our greenhouse gas emissions in CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e). In 2021, we joined the Science Based Targets initiative, committing to the United Nations' 1.5° target. As part of this, we will reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 46 % by 2030 (compared to 2019) and measure and reduce Scope 3 emissions. By 2025, we want to achieve 100% sustainable mobility for fritz employees (e-mobility, public transport, bicycle), reduce the consumption of water, heat and electricity per bottle by 20 %, and increase the share of certified organic raw materials (excluding sugar) to 90 %.

Scope-what? Our footprint in detail.

We follow the Greenhouse Gas Protocol in our calculations. Our direct emissions from combustion or chemical processes (Scope 1) come mainly from our vehicle fleet (including rental cars). We purchase energy and related emissions (Scope 2) ourselves only for our office in Hamburg. As indirect emissions (Scope 3), we have included the energy consumption of our bottling plants. We calculate and analyse further Scope 3 emissions together with rights.based on science on an ongoing basis.

With our new mobility concept, we are shifting up a gear from 2022: From now on, no more combustion engines will be joining our fleet, which has long been SUV-free. By 2024, it will be powered entirely from the socket. In 2021, 96 people preferred to travel to the office or elsewhere by train, bus or bicycle - still at our expense (2020: 93). We only take the plane in approved exceptions as we prefer to keep our feet on the ground.

Together with our five regional bottlers, we work on resource-saving production. In our office, we use 100% green electricity and our bottlers used 60% green electricity in 2021 (2020: 54%). Thanks to the new plant in Sersheim, we needed 2 % less heat energy, 7 % more electrical energy and 11 % less fresh water in 2021 than in 2019. This means we have achieved our efficiency target of -10 % for fresh water only; by 2025 we want to continue to use 20 % less heat, electricity and water.

Our energy consumption in detail:

• Energy and water consumption in bottling per bottle 2021: 0.07 kWh and 0.178 l
• Energy and water consumption in bottling per bottle 2020: 0.08 kWh and 0.215 l
• Fuel consumption of our fleet 2021: 10,200 l petrol, 322,804 l diesel and 58 kg Gas
• Fuel consumption of our fleet 2020: 8,962 l petrol, 255,134 l diesel and 419 kg Gas
• Electricity consumption in the office 2021: 29.365 kWh electricity and 45.542 kWh heat
• Electricity consumption in the office 2020: 31.202kWh electricity and 44.649 kWh heat

Since 2019, we have also been taking a closer look at the rest of the supply chain for our products. After all, a drink is only as good as its ingredients, the people who produce them and with whom we want to team-up. Our Code of Conduct for Business Partners has been an integral part of our purchasing and distribution contracts since 2019. The code is based on international standards such as the UN Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the labour and social standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO). 

We have asked all our raw material suppliers and bottlers about their sustainability management in 2021, including environmental and social management systems, their own codes of conduct and the monitoring and training of their own suppliers. Since 2020, we have been asking new raw material suppliers about their sustainability management before we start working with them. On the basis of this information and the sourcing details, we have been preparing a risk analysis since 2021, which evaluates ingredients with regard to human and labour rights as well as environmental issues such as biodiversity or water stress. The results flow into our product management. 

Since 2019, we have been able to increase the organic share of our purchased, plant-based raw materials (excluding sugar) from 59 % to 64 % (2020) and 65 % (2021) but have fallen short of our target of 70 %. Our target for 2025 remains 90 %. Thanks to new recipes, we were nevertheless able to bring a lot of transparency into the supply chains of Anjola Organic Pineapple Lime and our Organic Kola. And of course, 100 % of our products continue to be vegan.

The purpose of our bottles is not fulfilled when they have been drunk: Even empty, they are still of use to some people - especially those with low incomes. For a small additional income, they collect empty deposit bottles and even risk making the humiliating and dangerous reach into the rubbish bin. With our initiative "Every Bottle Helps" we want to change that. Empty reusable bottles belong next to the rubbish bin. For the people who collect them, for the environment and for the reusable system in which the bottles are needed back. 

A total of 980,000 people in Germany actively collect deposit bottles. These and many other important findings were determined in a study we conducted on the realities of life for deposit collectors. How much does a deposit collector earn? What leads people to collect deposit bottles and how are they perceived in society? You can find all the information here.

Solidarity is neither a seasonal business nor an exclusive product. That's why we rely on a collective movement of the beverage industry: More than 100 beverage companies in Germany support "Every Bottle Helps". Together, we have also been launching our #hitzehilfe (heat aid) every summer since 2019: we distribute drinks ourselves and encourage society to donate an extra bottle of water to people on the street who can hardly find shelter on hot summer days.

We organise Germany’s largest deposit collection campaign in four cities.

With "Germany's largest deposit collection campaign", in cooperation with the Karin and Walter Blüchert Memorial Foundation, we enable deposit collectors and people on the street to take a break. While they rest for a weekend in a sheltered place and receive everything from hygiene services to social counselling, we call for social bottle deposit donations. In 2020 and 2021, a five-figure number of empty deposit cans and bottles and a donation value of €4,400 were collected in this way. We distributed the collected money to the deposit collectors with the help of the train station missions in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Munich.

Our commitment to four walls: Against social poverty with “Housing First”.

The pandemic has affected us all, but some have been hit harder than others. That is why in 2020, together with some partners from the homeless aid sector and under the leadership of StrassenBLUES e. V., we launched the campaigns #hotelsforhomeless and #letmebesafe: To protect homeless people from the Corona pandemic, 20 people were housed in hotels in a pilot project. Following the model of the "Housing First" principle, we actively advocate for a new way of dealing with homeless people. Because only when you first have a roof over your head can you actively walk the path out of homelessness.

We are now also standing by in Europe – for our community and the environment.

Since February 2021, "Every Bottle Helps" has been the motto in more than just Germany - because all of Europe will have deposit systems by the end of the decade due to the EU's Single-Use Plastics Directive. From the very beginning, we have therefore been campaigning for deposit systems and against throwing away natural resources. In the Netherlands, we have already hung up our "DoneerRing" deposit holders in three cities, and we aim to have 20 cities by the end of 2022.

For us, cola is neither a staple food nor a mass product to be poured by the litre, but a stimulant in small glass bottles and a cultural good for adults. Although more than 80 % of soft drinks in Germany are sold in bottles of one litre or more, our products are only available in 0.2, 0.33 and 0.5 litre portion bottles. In the case of fritz-kolas and fritz-mate, we draw the attention of pregnant or breastfeeding women as well as children to the high caffeine content on the label. Our advertising is not aimed at children, does not take place in their environment, and is not specifically targeted at them. It is aimed specifically at... you.

To make the already good decision for fritz beverages even a little better, we are continuously working on a diverse product portfolio. What else is there to quench your thirst for taste and conscious consumption? In 2020, the new "zero sugar" has replaced our boring grey "less sugar" in the range. We also adjusted some recipes, for example those of Anjola and Organic Kola. This enabled us to reach our 2019 target and reduce the average calorie content by more than 10 % - by 2025 we want to reach 20 %.

We are an officially recognised top employer.

Colourful, a little crazy and the heart of our organisation - these are our 270 employees (2020: 267), whom we (and they) like to call "fritzees". All of them can come as they are, contribute with passion and make a difference at our organisation.

The foundation for our cooperation: open, creative cooperation, flat hierarchies and shared values such as diversity and sustainability. We have summarised these important and self-evident values in separate management guidelines for all fritzees.

What working at fritz-kola means:

• Transparency and fairness in the salary model and the job evaluation system, which we have continuously adapted, including in 2020/21.
• Various additional services for all fritzees.  
• Comprehensible application process for (maybe-)soon-to-be-fritzees.
• An open feedback culture that we nurture with annual feedback, officially conducted surveys and communication and feedback trainings.
• Regular (monthly in pandemic times 2020/21) information for all fritzees in our "wake-up calls" in German and English.
• In 2021, we were again recognised as a great place to work.
• Working together on overarching topics such as "Diversity & Inclusion" (17 fritzees), "Work happiness" (18) or the mobility concept (11).

Our fritzees make it big! They have the chance to develop professionally and personally and thus to keep improving fritz as an organisation. Our own team of trainers works intensively with the regional sales managers and offers internal training for everyone. Since 2021, all our team leaders have received a 7-day training on the common leadership guidelines. Current topics are communicated in a playful way via an online platform. However, the trainers cannot do everything, which is why we also work with external training suppliers. In 2021, we had a total of over 300 training days, equivalent to 2.5 days per employee (2020: over 200 days - despite reduced working hours).

You can find out more about working with us on our career website.

About us.

An old vw van, a few Euros in your pocket, a desire for independence and a simple idea – it can be done better. That’s all it took to get started. Fresh out of uni and faced with that timeless question of what to do with their lives, friends Mirco and Lorenz found their answer: create something that makes time spent at their favourite places even better. Not just another mass-produced cola, but a cultural good that stands for something. Not too sweet, with lots and lots of caffeine to add fuel to those long nights. All that was left was to slap some black and white labels of their faces on beer bottles filled with highly caffeinated, high-quality kola with a name as open and honest as their cosmopolitan homeland and done. Meet fritz!

Our range includes five fritz-kolas, four fritz-limos, three fritz-spritzers as well as fritz-mate, mischmasch and Anjola. From our Hamburg office, we manage sales, marketing, production, purchasing and quality management together with our sales force. Our suppliers provide us with important ingredients such as juices and sugar, packaging materials such as glass bottles and reusable crates as well as advertising materials. Our filling partners – five German mineral springs – use ingredients and packaging materials directly for production. From the loading dock the beverage wholesaler takes over and supplies restaurants, retailers and all others who sell our drinks in 28 European countries. They are also supplied with advertising material via the Elbe Workshops. Normally, the glass bottle then comes back to us and continues its journey to all those people who go through life with their eyes open. Because the world belongs to those who are awake.

About sustainability at fritz-kola.

Sustainability has played a central role in our corporate management since fritz-kola was founded. What was reflected in brown reusable glass bottles back then, is now reflected in our corporate goals, values, guidelines and daily work. We do not want to go down this path alone, but consistently involve our stakeholders. We are in constant exchange with suppliers and mineral springs, as well as with distributors and customers from beverage wholesalers and retailers, restaurants to cash-and-carry markets. We also maintain close contact with our consumers through social media and events. We are an environmental partner of the city of Hamburg, a member of PRO MEHRWEG - Verband zur Förderung von Mehrwegverpackungen e. V. (Association for the Promotion of Reusable Packaging) as well as the Bundesdeutscher Arbeitskreis für umweltgerechtes Management (B.A.U.M.) e. V. (Federal German Working Group for Environmentally Sound Management), the Bundesverband Nachhaltige Wirtschaft e. V. (Federal Association for Sustainable Business), the Grüne Wirtschaftsdialog e. V. (Green Business Dialogue) and Die Familienunternehmer e. V. (Family Businesses). We also promote the Arbeitskreis Mehrweg GbR (Round Table on Reusables). In addition to specific events, we support numerous activists and non-governmental organisations in their work. We are always open to exchange with the media, politics, science, local communities and other companies in the market. This multifaceted dialogue continuously flows into our evaluation of the material topics.

The overview of our sustainability management is provided by the Corporate Communications, PR and Sustainability team in the marketing department. It works closely with fritzees from all areas of the company and determines the impact of our actions and strategic decisions. The final say is had by the divisional management and the executive board, who have also reviewed and approved this report.

About this report.

In 2018, we identified the material topics together with selected contacts at our bottling plants, raw material suppliers and from the beverage trade in interviews and workshops as well as a data analysis in the sense of double materiality. They form the basis for this report. Our material topics, arranged by relevance, are: Packaging and product design, responsible consumption, human rights and labour standards in the supply chain, regional raw materials and bottling, advertising materials, employee satisfaction and retention, environmental impacts of production and bottling, social engagement and animal welfare.

The report has been prepared in accordance with the "GRI Standards: Core Option". All information relates to the years 2020/21 and to all our activities - unless otherwise noted. Our key figures are based on purchase and sales values. This excludes environmental data, which is based on production figures, and personnel data. We take data on events (including estimates) from the organisers.