"Leave it greener" program
In order to promote the
principles and values that foster environmentally responsible
behaviour, an environmental communication program was launched in
June 2007 for Metro employees. Because it is easier said than done,
we named the campaign "Leave it greener."
The campaign features an eye catching visual, that is meant to be
simple to allow our actions to shine through.
In June 2007, the first step consisted in giving each of our
employees a reusable mug. Since a single styrofoam cup takes over
400 years to decompose, this simple decision had major
repercussions for the environment. A plastic, glass and metal
recycling program was then started in the offices where pickup was
available. Finally, in-house initiatives were created, such as
adding an environmental message to e-mail signatures, introducing
two-sided printers and starting a car pooling service.
The ball is in your court
On Earth Day, April 22, 2008, the "Leave it greener" program
was expanded to the entire company and to our network of
supermarkets, in order to promote environmentally responsible
behaviour. Our initiatives included using "Did you know…?" shelf
cards in stores to showcase products that are more environmentally
friendly.
In April 2009, Metro continued its efforts with the first "Leave it
greener" week in all its offices and buildings. This event included
presentations by experts to educate employees about waste reduction
in the workplace, climate change, etc. A contest was also held to
promote environmentally friendly habits at work. Finally, "green"
information is often posted on the company''s intranet and in its
internal newsletter.
Shopping bags at Metro
Info-bag: things you need to
know about choosing the right bag
When it comes to shopping bags, Recyc-Québec recommends taking
the following actions, in order of importance:
1. Reduce the number of bags used at the source
2. Encourage the use of reusable bags
3. Use conventional plastic bags
4. Use biodegradable bags
5. Use paper bags
Reducing at the source
On October 28th, 2009, Metro Inc. has taken another step toward eliminating plastic bags by becoming the first Canadian food retailer to offer reusable produce bags in all of its stores across Quebec (Metro, Metro Plus, Super C and Marché Richelieu) and Ontario (Metro). Arriving in stores by the end of November, the reusable mesh bags will be available as an alternative to the rolls of plastic bags currently found throughout the produce section.
Metro is charging five cents per shopping bag in its Ontario and Quebec stores since June 1, 2009.
This new environmentally friendly measure will help the company
reach its goal of reducing the use of these bags in its stores by
50 per cent by the end of 2010.
In addition, in time for the return to school last fall, Metro
has created the Green Apple School Program to encourage
students in Ontario and Quebec to develop projects to promote a
healthier environment.
Metro will be making $2 million available to elementary and
secondary schools in Ontario and Quebec – $1 million in each
province. Projects can be submitted beginning September
2009.
Metro reusable bag
In January 2006, Metro became the first food distributor in Quebec
to offer customers reusable bags for only $1. Metro stores in
Ontario followed suit in June 2006. The reusable bags help reduce
the number of plastic bags used, discarded or sent to landfills.
Our bag is made 100% from post-consumer recycled materials and is
100% recyclable at the end of its useful life.
Its large size replaces two to three conventional bags. Strong and
washable, it can be reused numerous times. These attractive and
convenient bags, which feature two sets of straps (hand and
shoulder), have many other uses (shoe bag, beach bag, etc.),
thereby further reducing the number of plastic bags in the
environment.
The relevance of Metro''s initiative and the quality of its bag
were rewarded in 2007 with a Phénix environmental award in the
Management of Waste Materials category. This contest honours
remarkable actions taken by companies or institutions to protect
and sustain our natural environment. It is organized jointly by
Quebec''s Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et
des Parcs, Ministère du Développement économique, de l’Innovation
et de l’Exportation, Recyc-Québec and the Fondation québécoise en
environnement.
Voluntary Code of Good Practice for
the Use of Shopping Bags
Two years after the launch of its reusable bag, Metro made
another significant gesture by adhering to the Voluntary Code of
Good Practice for the Use of Shopping Bags. This code was adopted
on April 21, 2008, by the Association des détaillants en
alimentation du Québec, the Canadian Council of Grocery
Distributors, the Conseil québécois du commerce de détail,
Recyc-Québec and Éco Entreprises Québec. It aims to better manage
the use of paper and plastic shopping bags.
At Metro, the desire to reduce the number of bags means we:
- Encourage the use of bags suited to different purposes;
- Offer alternatives to bags, such as stickers and reusable plastic bags;
- Ask customers if they need a bag;
- Pack more items in each bag;
- Inform and educate customers about the source reduction, reuse,
recovery and recycling of conventional bags.
Metro applies this code in all of its stores across Quebec and
Ontario.
Metro in Ontario
The Government of Ontario, along with the retail leaders, has
set a goal to reduce the use of conventional bags by 50%
by 2012.
Another way that Metro is also reducing the amount of plastic being
sent to landfills is by offering a return-to-retail plastic bag
recycling programme. Customers are encouraged to return any plastic
shopping bag, regardless of whether the bag came from our store or
not, for recycling.
In the last two years, Metro has diverted over 1000 metric tonnes
of plastic film from landfill as a result of our programmes and due
to the efforts of our customers and staff.
Starting on June 1, 2009, Metro stores in Toronto will charge
customers 5¢ per plastic bag. This decision stems from a municipal
bylaw implemented by Toronto''s City Council on December 1,
2008.
A
sustainable behaviour
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$15,000 for ENvironnement
JEUnesse
In keeping with the commitment it made at the January 2006 launch
of its reusable bag, in March 2007, Metro gave 3¢ per bag sold (to
a maximum of $15,000) to ENvironnement JEUnesse, an organization
that fosters environmental awareness and critical thinking in young
people age 15-25.
Energy use in Metro''s buildings
Carbon Disclosure Project
(CDP)
In 2008, Metro joined the ranks of other forward thinking
organizations committed to fighting climate change by responding to
the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) information request. The CDP is
an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to foster
dialogue between investors and businesses, based on information
gathered annually from major international corporations, in order
to provide a rational response to the challenges of climate
change.
The CDP is an international organization that acts
as an intermediary between investors and businesses on issues
related to greenhouse gas emissions by major corporations.
This information request covered four main issues:
-
Metro administrators'' perception of the business risks and opportunities represented by climate change;
-
Greenhouse gas accounting;
-
Strategies implemented to reduce emissions, limit risks and benefit from business opportunities;
-
Inclusion of climate change issues into corporate governance strategies.
The questions we answered meet the basic standards
of the CDP. This is due to the fact that we both account for our
emissions and belong to the low-greenhouse gas emissions sector. We
have provided investors with transparent data on the business risks
and opportunities of climate change, as well as our adaptation
strategies.
Environmental Sustainability
Initiative (ESI)
Since September 2007, Metro has been involved in the Environmental
Sustainability Initiative (ESI). Spearheaded by the food
distribution industry, the initiative’s specific objective is to
account for the greenhouse emissions (in carbon dioxide equivalent)
of retail sales activities. This is an important step toward
collectively reducing the industry''s carbon footprint.
The calculator provided by the ESI enabled us to measure the carbon
footprint of each sector in our company. The locations that make up
our carbon footprint include:
-
Our Metro supermarket franchises and Super C discount stores in Quebec, and Metro supermarkets and Food Basics discount stores in Ontario;
-
Our warehouses and distribution centres;
-
Our Montreal head office.
Several measures have already been implemented to
reduce our energy consumption, thereby decreasing our GG
emissions.
In stores:
Refrigeration and heating account for more than half of a
supermarket''s total energy consumption. Our stores are equipped
with the following:
-
Central control panels to optimize energy consumption in the refrigeration, lighting, ventilation, and heating systems;
-
High-efficiency motors to reduce energy consumption in refrigerated display cases;
-
Systems to recover the heat generated by the refrigeration systems and redirect it to the sales area, warehouse and loading dock;
-
Direct-expansion refrigeration equipment with the lowest cooling load on the North American market. Freon leaks are detected rapidly, which minimizes GG emissions.
In the warehouses:
Our Quebec City fruit and vegetable warehouse was recently
renovated to include a glycol refrigeration system with a cooling
capacity equivalent to that of freon, which helps reduce GG
emissions.
The
3Rs
Metro tries to apply the 3Rs as much as possible at all its
facilities: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. With this in mind, the store
has created major programs to reduce waste; specifically, they
involve plastic wrap, cardboard, paper (in certain offices and
stores), PGM (plastic, glass, metal) and organic materials (in
certain stores).
For example, in 2008, the cardboard recycling program collected
close to 60,000 metric tons. In the same year, close to 1,000 tons
of plastic wrap and 6,500 tons of organic materials were recovered.
In addition, Metro is constantly seeking solutions to reduce waste
sent to landfills.
Composting
A Quebec first: Bioreactor composting in a grocery
store
Metro Lussier, a Waterloo grocery store in Haute-Yamaska, is
breaking new ground and taking a green approach by installing a
bioreactor composting system.
Since December 2008, Metro Lussier has been making good use of its
waste by composting it rather than sending it to the
landfill.
Using only $50 worth of electricity per year, the bioreactor
composting system is also energy efficient.
Metro Lussier feeds its bioreactor all of its organic,
biodegradable waste.
ICI ON RECYCLE!
In 2007, Metro publicly committed to Recyc-Québec''s "ICI on
Recycle" program, which aims to encourage industries, businesses,
and institutions to achieve the objectives set by Recyc-Québec for
each category of material. For example, the overall objective to
obtain level 3 certification (the highest level of recognition) is
80%.
Therefore, we''ve made sure that a number of our Quebec
supermarkets achieve one of the three levels of "ICI on Recycle"
certification. Five stores have achieved Level 1 certification
and 130 Level 2 certification. Six Metro supermarkets
have even achieved Level 3 certification, thanks to their excellent
performance in reusing waste materials. These are Metro Plus
Stéphane Beaulieu in Ste-Julienne, Metro Gaétan Riendeau in
St-Hyacinthe and Metro Plus St-Grégoire in Bécancour, Metro Breton
de Bromont, Metro Breton de Granby et Metro Marché Gracefield de
Gracefield.
Level 1 corresponds to a facility''s commitment to be more aware of
the waste materials it generates and the Politique québécoise de
gestion des matières résiduelles 1998-2008. Accordingly, facilities
formally commit to implementing waste management measures,
according to the 3Rs, and to conveying this commitment to their
staff and customers.
Level 2 mainly aims to recognize facilities that have previously
implemented the 3Rs as well as information and awareness-raising
activities. This level of recognition was achieved through our
programs to recycle cardboard, plastic wrap and meat, oil and
grease residue, as well as our numerous awareness-raising
efforts.
Level 3 aims to recognize facilities that have achieved an 80%
recovery rate of waste materials. In concrete terms, facilities
with this level of certification are recognized for having
implemented reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery measures for
waste materials covered by the Policy. They must also have
implemented waste management information and awareness-raising
activities.
