Kroger Profiles Sustainability Priorities
Each year Kroger conducts an in-depth assessment of its sustainability goals, in partnership with an external consultancy, and releases an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. This year's report outlines the 12 key topics that were found to be the most meaningful to Kroger's key stakeholders.
This year those topics are: food waste; packaging; climate impact; food safety; food access; health and nutrition; diversity, equity and inclusion; associate health and safety; community engagement; responsible sourcing; supply chain accountability; and data privacy and cybersecurity.
"As the largest grocery retailer in America, Kroger is committed to being a force for good in the communities we serve," said Keith Dailey, Kroger's group vice president of corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer. "Our Purpose—to Feed the Human Spirit—continues to guide how we operate our business, care for our communities and deliver value to all our stakeholders. We're proud of our progress in 2019 and remain committed to our vision of a future with Zero Hunger | Zero Waste."
Three of Kroger's new sustainability commitments as part of the company's 2020 ESG report include:
Sustainable packaging: For all Our Brands products, Kroger will improve packaging by 2030 in the following ways.
- Complete a baseline product packaging footprint to fully understand current packaging impacts.
- Seek to achieve 100% recyclable, compostable and/or reusable packaging for Our Brands products.
- Increase recycled content in packaging so that the Kroger Our Brands portfolio collectively contains at least 10% recycled content in packaging.
- Reduce unnecessary packaging.
- Increase awareness among Kroger customers about how to properly manage Our Brands product packaging at end of life.
Greenhouse Gas Reduction: Kroger commits to reduce its absolute enterprise-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, from a 2018 base year.
No-Deforestation Commitment: Kroger is committed to eliminating tropical deforestation in the raw materials and products it sources into Kroger Manufacturing facilities and into its fresh meat case by 2025.
Cincinnati-based Kroger employs nearly half a million associates who serve 9 million-plus customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names. The company is No. 3 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
