Carrefour's hypermarket in Montesson has been awarded an 'anti-food waste' certificate by Bureau Veritas following an audit of the store and the group's headquarters.
The retailer claims to be the first retailer in France to obtain the certification.
Carrefour aims to increase the number of shops with the 'anti-food waste' certification to 20 by the end of this year as it seeks to reduce food waste by 50% by 2025.
Bureau Veritas, which specialises in testing, inspection and certification, awarded the Montesson hypermarket a 3-star level (exemplary) certification for three years.
The recognition is based on practices in terms of sourcing and purchasing of food items from suppliers, marketing of these products, and management of unsold goods and donations.
Alexandre Bompard, chairman and CEO of the Carrefour Group, said, "The fight against food waste is at the heart of our commitment to the food transition and our Carrefour 2026 strategic plan.
"It is our responsibility as a retailer to innovate and to involve our partners in this approach, in order to meet our customers' expectations. With this label issued by Bureau Veritas, we are raising the level of our commitments to align them with best practices and we have the ambition to take our entire industry with us in this approach."
'Anti-Food Waste' Certification
According to Carrefour, the score obtained by the Montesson hypermarket is linked to the rollout of an exclusive mobile application that facilitates the management and sorting of products close to their expiry date on the shelf.
The app has enabled the shop to reduce food waste by 8%, and it has set a reduction target of up to 20%.
In addition, the store reduced the rate of unsold goods by 24% between 2021 and 2022 in the butchery department with the help of order prediction tools.
It also set up 'anti-waste zones' to offer discounts between 30% and 50% for products with a short shelf-life.
The store also implemented a policy to manage donations and unsold products, which allowed it to distribute 96,000 meal equivalents in 2022.
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The creation of the 'anti-food waste' certification is part of the AGEC law and was developed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, ADEME and AFNOR Normalisation, Carrefour added.
The certification is an outcome of a phase of exchanges of more than two years involving public authorities, distributors and professionals in the food industry around the project.
The AGEC is a French law encouraging businesses across various sectors, municipalities, and citizens to eliminate waste and adopt more circular practices.
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