14 Apr 2022 | Countdown and CHEP
In 2020, Countdown released its ambitious 2025 Sustainability Plan. The plan features 14 goals and more than 40 commitments across ‘People’, ‘Planet’, and ‘Product’. These include commitments to zero food waste, science-based carbon emissions targets for Scopes 1-3, responsible stewardship of natural resources, and to “work with our trading partners, government and industry to influence packaging sustainability across the value chain.” Underpinning the plan are five guiding principles, that include ‘we apply circular thinking in everything we do’ and ‘we embrace the power of partnerships to create change’. By its very nature, Countdown cannot apply circular thinking in isolation. These principles have guided Countdown and CHEP in their work together to achieve major reductions in supply chain environmental impacts. This quiet revolution now sees more than 11 million reusable CHEP crates in circulation, transporting fresh produce from farms to Countdown stores across Aotearoa, and removing the equivalent in single use cardboard boxes from use.