Environmental Initiatives Report

We are continually looking at ways to reduce the amount of waste our stores generate that goes to the landfill.

To this end we have partnered with RecycleSmart to increase the rate at which waste materials at our stores are diverted for recycling and composting.

As well, meat trimmings from many of our stores are recycled by West Coast Reduction and turned into pet and livestock feed as well as ingredients used in fertilizers, soaps, lubricants, detergents, and biofuel.

New standards in lighting, HVAC, refrigeration systems and building controls have been implemented to maximize energy efficiency in the new stores we design. Existing stores are being retrofitted to reduce energy consumption.

Refrigeration Systems
All stores with older equipment are being converted to low Green House Gas refrigeration systems: For Corporate stores 25% have low GHG systems in place and this will increase to 60% within the next 2 years. Within 5 years all of our stores will have been converted.

Lighting
We continue to move stores onto energy efficient LED lighting. At our Corporate stores 60% are now using LED lights with plans to continue converting stores.

Energy Saving Doors on Refrigeration Coolers
80 % of Corporate stores have been retrofitted with doors on their coolers to save energy, and the remaining stores are being evaluated for feasibility.

Shift Delivery
We have partnered with Shift so that home deliveries in the Vancouver downtown core are done by bicycle.

Being based in Beautiful British Columbia, we strive to source local products from sustainable vendors. Our focus on sourcing locally produced food reduces the transportation required and the carbon footprint that these products generate

Seafood
We are proud to partner with different initiatives to help protect our valuable ocean resources, and ensure our customers have direct access to wild, sustainable seafood.

We work with Ocean Wise to ensure we offer many sustainable seafood options, and we are partnered with Skipper Otto Community Supported Fishery to keep independent small-scale fishing alive in BC.

Local, Organic and Plant-Based Products
We continue to increase our offering of locally produced products and have 228 local vendors with almost 2,500 local products in our assortment. We always source local produce first whenever possible.

Our offering of organic products continues to grow and we now have almost 2200 organic products available in our stores. As well we are steadily increasing our offering of plant-based alternatives to animal-based products.

In 2020 we launched a food rescue program in partnership with FoodMesh to divert all edible food out of the waste stream and to the highest end use. All 29 of our stores are on the program and are partnered with 200 charities
and 34 farmers.

As of August 2024 we have diverted 2.3 million kgs of food from waste streams, creating the equivalent of 3.9 million meals for those in need in the communities we serve, and eliminating 5.9 million kgs of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere.

Additionally we provide education to store employees on methods to reduce food waste, and provide consumer education via social media on how our customers can reduce food waste in their homes.

We conduct ongoing assessments of our packaging with a goal of ensuring it is recyclable or compostable. Currently 93% of our packaging material meets this target.

• Our produce department has switched to fiber containers for berries, tomatoes, and stone fruits like peaches and nectarines.

• Our deli department has switched to pinnPACK containers at our full serve counters which are made from 100% post consumer recycled green bottles.

• Our bakery department has switched to plastic containers made out of PET which is the easiest type of plastic to recycle, and is also piloting a program using Bottle Box which is a packaging made 100% out of recycled pop bottles.

• Plastic shopping bags have been phased out of all stores and we actively encourage customers to use reusable bags instead of single use paper bags.  To this end, we piloted a “Borrow a Bag” program at four stores and will be expanding it to other locations.

• Plastic straws have been eliminated in our cafés and deli departments.

• Compostable utensils have been rolled out at all stores and reusable utensils and straws are available for purchase in our deli departments and cafés.

• We transitioned to Phenol-free receipt paper at all stores in 2021 and are transitioning to paper gift cards.

Where sustainable alternatives are not available,
we are working with our packaging suppliers to keep abreast of innovative and new technologies in packaging materials.