Belgian retailer Delhaize has introduced what it has described as '100% carbon neutral' bananas to its offering.
The retailer said that due to reduction and compensation measures along the supply chain, from planting to delivery, the carbon generated by the bananas, is offset.
The measure forms part of Delhaize's Lion's Footprint initiative, through which the retailer is aiming to achieve neutrality in terms of plastic waste, food waste and carbon generation.
CO2 Output
Delhaize teamed up with Port International on the initiative, at first calculating the amount of CO2 emitted by a banana. According to this study, one banana emits, on average, 0.9 kilograms of CO2, which, spread across a full year's worth of sales, totals 7.1 million kilos of carbon emissions.
To tackle this, Delhaize is employing more ecologically friendly logistics measures, sustainable packaging and green energy in its banana supply chain, as well as engaging in climate protection initiatives, such as a drinking water project in Cambodia and a reforestation project in Peru.
The retailer is now considering adding strawberries to its carbon neutral programme in the near future.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
