Portuguese retailer Jerónimo Martins Group has been internationally recognised for its fight against food waste in Portugal, having received a Ruban d’Honneur in the Environmental and Corporate Sustainability category of the 2015/2016 European Business Awards.
Jerónimo Martins was chosen from 678 national champions by a panel of judges, made up of European business and political leaders, academics and entrepreneurs.
As part of its Fighting Food Waste on All Fronts project in Portugal, Jerónimo Martins integrated the use of non-standard vegetables, which were previously left in the fields, in its processed products. A process with suppliers was developed for purchasing these vegetables and introducing them into existing recipes in the Pingo Doce Meal Solutions range.
Over another 14,300 tonnes of these vegetables were not only sold at a lower price in the group’s Recheio stores, but were also introduced into Pingo Doce’s private-label range of pre-washed and pre-cut vegetables for salads and soups.
Jerónimo Martins has also been consistently donating to charities in Portugal food that is either close to its expiration date or cannot be sold, but still meets all food-safety requirements. In both 2014 and 2015, this support reached over 600 institutions that help people in need.
The ninth edition of the European Business Awards engaged with over 32,000 companies from 33 countries this year, a 33-per-cent increase on last year.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
