A product is not just what comes inside the packaging. It is also a source, a transformation, the embodiment of everything and everyone that contributes to the supply chain so that every product is deserving of consumer trust. To this end, we strive to incorporate social and environmental concerns into our processes to ensure responsible product development and manufacturing. An effort that we also endeavour to share with our clients where possible.
In 2020, we introduced more than 200 new sustainability certifications in the Perishables and Private Brand products. This certification covers both the products and the packaging, and sometimes a reference can have more than one sustainability certification – for example, products with organic production certification and FSC® certified packaging. Welfair™ certification was also introduced in three Pingo Doce fresh milk references, a protocol that guarantees the well-being of the dairy cows.
To encourage the consumption of sustainable products, and besides sustainability certifications, we also offer products with differentiating environmental and social characteristics, using the packaging to share the information with our customers. To ensure these characteristics, we’ve implemented internal control systems for Private Brand products.
This is the case with the Pingo Doce products’ ecodesign stamp, which indicates how the packaging has become more sustainable, or the recycling icons, which indicate the recycling bin to be used by the consumer at the end of the product’s life. Biedronka has also adopted this approach in products that use eggs from cage-free hens in their ingredients or in food solutions suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
Information on the number of Perishables and Private Brand products with sustainability certification launched in 2020 was confirmed by an external and independent entity for the Group’s Annual Report.