Press release
June 5, 2020
Coles thanks the customers for supporting sustainability measures on World Environment Day
Coles recognizes World Environment Day by thanking customers and team members for helping Coles become Australia's most sustainable supermarket.
Promoting the sustainability of generations was at the center of the transformation strategy that Coles presented last June. These included commitments to further reduce packaging and food waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
To date, Coles customers and team members have contributed the equivalent of 142 million meals to disadvantaged Australians through SecondBite and Foodbank, 997 million soft plastic items recycled through REDCycle, and $ 7.9 million in food supplies to vulnerable Australians during COVID donated -19.
Thinus Keeve, Chief Property and Export Officer who leads Coles' sustainability strategy, thanked customers and team members for helping Coles make a positive contribution to the environment.
"With our more than 115,000 team members serving more than 20 million customers every week, the combined efforts of our customers and team members have a significant impact on our ability to implement sustainable practices in the communities in which we operate," said Keeve.
"Whether you're donating to SecondBite at the checkout or returning soft plastics in a Coles REDCycle container, each of our customers is helping to fulfill our mission of becoming the most sustainable supermarket in Australia."
Over the past 12 months, Coles has made further progress in its commitments to increase the share of energy from renewable sources and implement more sustainable processes in its stores.
"By using energy more efficiently and investing in renewable energy projects, we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by more than 35 percent since 2009, including a six percent reduction in 2019 alone," said Keeve.
Coles has installed solar modules in 38 supermarkets since June 2019, bringing the total number of on-site solar power plants to 68. In addition, three new solar power plants were built in regional New South Wales, from which Coles will buy, equivalent to 10% of its national electricity consumption.
In the past two months, Coles has opened two of its most sustainable supermarkets, Coles Local, in Melbourne's Hawthorn and Sydney's Rose Bay. These stores have team member uniforms made from 65 percent recycled bottles, trolleys partially made from recycled plastic, and free, reclaimed customer carrying boxes as an alternative to bags. Coles plans to expand these sustainability initiatives to additional branches in the coming months.
Source: Medianet publication.
The Coles contribution thanks customers for supporting sustainability measures and first appeared in Retail World Magazine.
