We work with our suppliers to develop products and packaging to help reduce the amount of materials used, encourage the use of recycled materials, and ensure the recyclability of our Private Brand and Perishables assortment.
In 2020, the Group reduced its total consumption of materials by 1.9% per million euros in sales.
In 2020, we joined the Portuguese Plastics Pact, the Polish Plastics Pact – through Biedronka – and the design working group of The Consumer Goods Forum’s Plastic Waste Coalition of Action.
Also considering our membership of the New Plastic Economy Global Commitment, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and by 2025, we are committed to:
In 2020, plastic accounted for 31% of total materials used in the four packaging categories: Private Brand packaging, service packaging, check-out bags and wrapping film.
In 2020, we reduced the use of single-use plastic in almost all categories, thanks to the Companies’ efforts to anticipate the targets for reducing the consumption of single-use plastic.
Below are some of the measures we have been implementing to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic.
We seek not only to use paper from sustainably managed forests, but also to reduce the use of paper.
In 2020, and as a result of the pandemic, we reduced the consumption of total paper used in promotional leaflets in all Companies by 42.7%. Moreover, the paper used in the Pingo Doce and Recheio leaflets and catalogues bears the EU Ecolabel, is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) certified or has Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). The same applies to Biedronka leaflets.
In Portugal, the paper used for printing the banners’ magazines is PEFC or FSC® certified and/or the companies producing it have ISO 14001 certification.
An efficient sustainability strategy implies changing internal practices and working together with our suppliers to help improve the eco-efficiency of Private Brand packaging. The goal is to reduce our environmental impact and optimise production costs, transportation and waste management.
In 2020, we implemented 148 packaging ecodesign projects (78 at Biedronka, 36 at Pingo Doce, 14 at Hebe, 10 at Recheio and 10 at Ara).
Since 2011, we have avoided the use of around 27,500 tonnes of materials and the emission of 4,500 tonnes of CO2 (in transport) by improving the eco-efficiency of the packaging of 534 Private Brand references.
We strive to reuse increasingly more materials in our operations. As a result, we avoided using more than 35 thousand tonnes of single-use packaging.
We charge customers for the plastic bags provided at the checkout counters of all our Companies. Since 2007, and without waiting for the laws imposing the measure, the Group gradually starting charging customers for check-out bags to help encourage customers to reuse plastic bags.
Since 2018 Pingo Doce, in partnership with the New Water Project, has offered a solution to refill reusable plastic bottles. At the end of 2020, the ECO bottle was available in 138 stores and helped avoid the consumption of 73 tonnes of plastic during the year.
Biedronka and Pingo Doce launched reusable polyester produce bags for fruit and vegetables in 2020 to encourage consumers to reduce their use of single-use plastic bags.
Bulk sales in Ara represented almost 51 thousand tonnes of food products, being an available option in 548 stores where at least one of the items covered is sold: rice, sugar, lentils, or beans.
In Poland and Portugal, all Biedronka stores and more than half of the Pingo Doce stores offer dried and sweet fruit in bulk, representing around 27 thousand tonnes at Biedronka and 235 tonnes at Pingo Doce.
Information on the savings in materials as a result of the ecodesign packaging projects and the Group’s plastic footprint was confirmed by an external and independent entity for the Group’s 2020 Annual Report.