Etobicoke, April 22, 2008 – In honour of Earth
Day, A&P Canada is launching its Leave it
greener campaign throughout its network of supermarkets.
The goal of this environmental marketing program is to help create
environmental awareness and encourage responsible behaviour.
Customers shopping at A&P, Dominion, Ultra Food & Drug, The
Barn and Loeb will now notice display cards highlighting
eco-friendly products in many aisles.
The cards, designed with a “How we’re helping…” messaging, will
draw customers to eco-friendly initiatives such as products made
with 100% recycled material.
“As a company, we are making a commitment to act responsibly
towards the environment,” said Serge Boulanger, vice-president,
marketing, METRO Inc. “Through our Leave it greener platform, we
can help educate consumers about what they can do, so that they can
adopt more eco-friendly behaviour.”
The Leave it greener program was initially designed as an internal
program to encourage all A&P Canada employees to adopt
responsible consuming habits. Each employee is given a reusable cup
for his or her daily beverage. This was an important step in the
right direction as one styrofoam cup takes more than 400 years to
biodegrade.
To create environmental awareness around children, this spring,
A&P Canada launched a reusable bag contest where children from
grades JK to six had a chance to design the company’s newest
reusable bag.
Hundreds of entrees were received and the winning design was
submitted by Katelyn, a senior kindergarten student from Milton.
Her design will be made into the company’s newest reusable bag
which will be in stores beginning September 2008.
“This winning entry embodies what the contest was all about,” said
Gillian Kerr, director, marketing, A&P Canada. “This
eco-friendly design promotes the environment, shows the issue from
a child’s perspective and appeals to grocery shoppers.
Congratulations to Katelyn and all the participants.”
The second place prizes goes to fourth grader Shyanna from
Orangeville and the third place winner is Mark, another fourth
grader from Brampton.
The first place winner receives 5,000 AIR MILES and her bag design
will be used for A&P’s newest reusable bag. The second place
winner receives 1,000 AIR MILES and four bags made especially for
her and her family. The third place winner wins 500 AIR MILES and a
personalized reusable bag for him.
Customers can visit www.freshobsessed.com to view the entries and
winning designs.
The Leave it greener program is offered throughout METRO’s network
of supermarkets, both in Ontario and in Quebec.
Here is what A&P Canada is already doing to protect the
environment:
- The first food retailer to offer its customers a reusable shopping bag.
- Since the launch in June 2006, more than two million reusable bags have been sold to date.
- All flyers from A&P Canada are now printed on 100 per cent recycled paper.
- More than 25,000 metric tons of cardboard are recovered every year.
- Since 1996, A&P, Dominion, Ultra Food & Drug and the Barn customers have been able to bring back their plastics bags and deposit them into recycling bins at store locations across Ontario. As of the fall 2007 all Food Basics locations began the program.
- Since the program began, A&P Canada has diverted more than 3.57 million pounds or 250 million plastics bags from reaching landfills.
A&P Canada Inc.
Serving Canadians since 1927, A&P Canada Co. is a
wholly owned subsidiary of METRO INC. and operates more than 280
grocery stores under the A&P, Dominion, Ultra Food & Drug,
The Barn, Loeb and Food Basics banners throughout Ontario. For more
information and for store locations, visit
www.freshobsessed.com.
-30-
Selena Fiacco
Director, Communications
A&P Canada
416.234.6081
selena.fiacco@metro.ca
Subscribe and receive METRO INC's latest information.
