Denmark's Salling Group has outlined a new sustainable packaging strategy to reduce the use of plastics in its operations.
The retail group will encourage the use of recyclable packaging for food and groceries in its Føtex, Netto, and Bilka stores.
It will also replace the packaging of more than 5,000 products with sustainable alternatives.
By 2023, the retail group aims to cut the use of plastics by 30% and make the packaging of all its own brands products 100% recyclable.
'Lead The Way'
According to Salling Group's executive vice-president, Michael Løve, it is crucial to reduce the consumption of new plastic although it is useful in preserving the shelf life of food items and reducing wastage.
"Here, we want to take responsibility and lead the way in developing new, sustainable solutions," he added.
Salling Group's new plastic strategy has been developed in consultation with the Danish Technological Institute and WWF.
'Ambitious New Standards'
Bo Øksnebjerg, secretary-general of the WWF World Nature Fund, said, "Salling Group's and WWF's ambitious new standards will greatly reduce supermarket consumption of plastic and make the plastic that we are forced to use much easier to recycle.
"I hope that the other supermarkets and politicians will adopt the principles so that they are applied everywhere."
The retailer has also invited manufacturers, grocery chains, and other stakeholders in the sector to contribute to implementing solutions that result in reducing the use of plastics.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
