Auchan Retail has announced that it has signed the European Plastics Pact – a public-private initiative supported by a network of companies, states and NGOs in the continent.
The move reaffirms the retailer’s commitment to fighting plastics pollution at an international level.
The Netherlands, France and Denmark spearheaded the pact, which was signed by two of Belgium's three regions and a host of firms, including German chemicals firm Henkel and Finnish oil refiner Neste.
As part of its Auchan 2022 business plan, the retailer had already set the goal to eliminate plastics from its catering and fruit and vegetables segments, in all countries in which it operates, by 2022.
It has also pledged to make 100% of packaging for Auchan products reusable, recyclable or compostable.
In February 2019, Auchan joined the National Plastic Pact in France.
Initiatives
The retailer has already implemented several measures to reduce plastics from its operations and is two years ahead of European regulations.
These include the introduction of tableware made of single-use plastics with eco-friendly materials, the use of reusable 'nets' in the fruit and vegetables sections in its stores, as well as alternatives for plastic bags.
Auchan Retail is developing alternatives for plastic films used in the packaging of organic fruit and vegetables and is considering phasing out plastic from the packaging of certain own-brand products in the food and non-food categories.
It also offers customers in Poland, France, and Luxembourg the option to bring their own container to reduce packaging.
In France, the retailer has installed Ecobox kiosks in the parking lot of its hypermarkets for recycling plastic bottles.
Presently, around 100 hypermarkets are equipped with these kiosks and have resulted in recycling approximately 100 million plastic bottles.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
