At Rusta, we take our sustainability work very seriously. As a leading player in our industry, we want to be a role model in many areas. Sustainability is among the most important.
Rusta’s long-term vision is to become the leading and most trusted variety hard discount retailer in Europe. Rusta aims to achieve its goal by having a structured and target-based approach to its sustainability work and therefore bases its sustainability strategy on four key areas of sustainability, Product, People, Planet and Governance, where Rusta aims to create long-term improvement.
Product
Rusta offers safe, durable, and fully functional products of good quality while ensuring low prices. Rusta aims to increase the sustainability of its product range and customer offerings by actively working to maintain and enhance the quality of its product assortment by designing durable products that last longer, can be repaired, reused, and recycled – while also reducing the proportion of products returned by customers due to defects. Between 2012 and 2025, the share of products returned by customers due to defects was reduced from 0.370 percent to 0.046 percent, a clear indicator that our sustainability and quality efforts are generating results.
In addition, Rusta employs a Supplier Quality Evaluation tool on the scale poor, average, good and high, to assess and rate the suppliers’ quality systems, and to motivate and encourage the suppliers to pursue further progress in their production quality efforts. The share of suppliers rated as good or higher was 72 percent by the end of the financial year 2024/25. Rusta aims to increase the share of suppliers rated as good/high to 80 percent.
People
Rusta has developed an external Code of Conduct, which builds on the ten principles of the UN Global Compact, to assist the company in meeting certain responsibilities. The Code of Conduct covers, among other things, human rights, working conditions, environment and business ethics. Every supplier must adhere to the Code of Conduct in order to be eligible as a supplier for Rusta. Since 2008, all suppliers of Rusta’s private label products must annually sign the Code of Conduct.
In addition to the basic minimum requirements, Rusta’s external Code of Conduct further contains a number of requirements that the supplier should comply with. These requirements include good working conditions, health and safety regulations, business ethics and environmental regulations. Suppliers are rated based on how well they comply with the external Code of Conduct.
Planet
Rusta develops its products with environmental sustainability in mind and is committed to caring for the planet. Rusta works together with its suppliers to continuously improve its environmental performance and the environmental performance of all potential suppliers of Rusta is screened and evaluated before the suppliers are approved to produce products for Rusta. In addition to Rusta’s non-negotiable requirement that all critical environmental hazards are eliminated or handled in a sustainable manner, Rusta rates its suppliers based on the following areas: Wastewater, electricity consumption, direct fuel consumption, waste management and emissions to air (non-greenhouse gases) on the scale poor, average, good and high. The share of suppliers rated as good or higher was 54 percent by the end of the financial year 2024/25. Through its work with its suppliers, Rusta aims to increase the share of suppliers rated as good/higher to 55 percent.
Rusta aims to only use raw materials that are legally extracted as well as certified and non-harmful chemicals in its products. Additionally, Rusta also works to promote recycling and discloses the share of recycled materials in all of its private label products, both with respect to the products themselves and the product packaging. During the financial year 2024/25, 98 percent of the purchased cotton consisted of so-called more sustainable cotton (Better cotton, organic or recycled cotton). By the financial year 2025/26, Rusta aims to ensure that 100 percent of the cotton it purchases will consist of so-called more sustainable cotton.
During the financial year 2024/25, Rusta joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and in April 2025 SBTi validated our climate targets to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain by the 2045 financial year. This commitment reflects Rusta’s overall ambition to address the climate crisis while strengthening our position as a company that is active in driving the transition toward a more sustainable future.
Governance
Good business conduct and a sound corporate culture are fundamental to our relationships with customers, employees, potential employees, owners and suppliers. It is also a prerequisite for our stakeholders to want to work with us.
By having a structured approach to its sustainability work, Rusta’s key strategic areas Product, People, Planet and Governance together pave the way for a sustainable business, which offers Rusta’s customers value for money while enabling Rusta to see past short-term profits to reach long-term sustainability objectives and to grow its business with partners and suppliers that prioritise sustainability, thus also enabling an economically sustainable business.
Read our latest sustainbility report here.