Like the other
two large supermarket chains, Delhaize makes sustainable development an integral
part of its daily work. They launched their New Game Plan in December 2009, making growth,
efficiency and sustainability their three priorities.
It took me a
very long time to sift through the blurb on the Delhaize site. I don’t think
they can be accused of green washing, but their website needs a lot of editing
to get down to the nitty gritty. C’mon guys, you’ve nothing to hide! It could
also be updated as a lot of the information referred to the year 2010.
Also like
Colruyt and Carrefour, Delhaize has a large organic offering, covering textiles,
body care and food. They also have a range of Fair Trade foods, as well as Max
Havelaar goods. These are clearly labelled:
Delhaize has a
range of ecological products that are indicated with these labels:
Delhaize
prioritises locally produced goods. All Delhaize branded milk is Belgian as is
99% of the pork meat it sells. They also stock seasonal fruit and vegetables.
The supermarket
works with the WWF and Stichting de
Noordzee on a sustainable fishing policy, which was rolled out in 2012. They aim
to purchase fish, be that fresh, frozen, prepared or tinned, responsibly. With
the WWF, they have developed a traffic light ‘fish index’ showing how endangered various
species of fish are and suggesting alternatives for you.
On palm oil,
Delhaize favours sustainable sources in the event that the oil is indispensible
in production.
Right, on to
the physical infrastructure of the shops… Delhaize are bit-by-bit replacing the
old bulbs in their stores with energy efficient ones. One thing I really like about
the Delhaize stores is that in many of them, the fridges have doors to reduce
the amount of energy needed to keep the food cool. They have also installed
over 100 000m2 of solar panels to provide electricity. The hope is
that by 2020, they will use 35% less energy than in 2005.
Like the other
supermarkets, Delhaize is reducing the amount of packaging they use. One good
outcome of this is that their cleaning products are only sold in concentrated
form. And of course, the packaging that they do use is recycled: in 2010, up to
72% of their waste was recycled. They also try to cut the amount of food waste
but any food that can be, is sent to food banks (153 tons in 2010). Any further
leftover food is used to create biogas.
The company
refunds 100% of the public transport costs for its employees and encourages
them to use bicycles, even going as far as to give a Delhaize bike and clothing
to those who come to work by bike 75% of the time! Not bad! Employees can also
work, on occasion, from one of the satellite offices outside Brussels instead
of coming into the head offices in the city. Company cars are usually hybrid or
electric and staff can take lessons in economic driving.
This
consciousness extends to customers, with the store car parks also accommodating
bike stands.
Transport
lorries are the most sustainable possible and thanks to an efficiency
programme, they’ve managed to cut 4 million km from routes. They are also looking
at other means of transport such as boat, double-deckers and gas-run lorries.
Delhaize
participates in project PIEK, a pilot project in Flanders, to test noise
reduction initiatives in lorries and shops.
Delhaize works
with its partners in sustainability. These partners include the WWF (to reduce
the environmental impact and promote sustainable fishing), the Network for
Sustainable and Responsible Consumption (developing a campaign to promote the
sustainable products and labels to customers) and with Bruxelles Environnement
(to serve sustainable and Fairtrade foods in the Delhaize canteens).
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