Our engagements and partnerships
More than ever we are building sustainable collaborations. These help us in our mission to create sustainable added value for people and environment together. Both the co-operations with partners and our concrete engagements are an important lever to realise our sustainability goals.
Our engagements
Together with other players in the retail sector we translate our goals in the field of sustainability into concrete engagements.
Green Deals
The Green Deals of the Flemish government exist of voluntary agreements between (private) partners and the Flemish government to start green projects together, around specific themes. Colruyt Group has already endorsed several Green Deals in the past years with a clear link to our own activities.
During the Green Deal 'Circular procurement' various companies and organisations investigated how they can close energy and material circular courses in the supply chain. In total, the Green deal resulted in more than 100 circular purchasing experiments, with the development of new tools and methods and the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
With the Green Deal 'Climate-friendly refrigeration', we continue on our already chosen path: we keep systematically replacing old cooling installations that work on F-gases with more sustainable alternatives with natural cooling. A switch that we have been working on since 2015.
By 2030, the Green Deal ‘Protein shift on our plate' aims for a ratio of 60% plant-based proteins and 40% animal proteins on our plate. Bio-Planet, Okay, Colruyt Lowest Prices and Solucious are committed to support this transition, providing accessible information for consumers and a wide, innovative range of plant-based food.
The Green Deal 'Packaged differently' focuses on avoiding or re-using single use packagings. In addition to sharing knowledge and exchanging experiences, concrete pilot projects are also foreseen. As a retailer, we work on more sustainable packagings on our store shelves through many large and small projects.
Science Based Targets initiative
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) helps companies translate their climate ambitions into science-based targets to achieve the Paris climate agreement commitments: a maximum climate warming of 1.5 °C. In April 2023, the SBTi validated our emission reduction targets.
Specifically, we sharpened the level of ambition of our CO2 reduction targets for our own activities (scope 1 and 2 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol). For the first time, we also formulated targets to reduce the climate impact of the products we sell (scope 3), mainly focusing on the climate plans of our suppliers and the use phase of the electronic devices and fossil fuels we sell. We will report on our progress annually and adjust and/or extend our targets where necessary.
Sustainability Initiative Fruit and Vegetables
Colruyt Group is part of the sector initiative Sustainability Initiative Fruit and Vegetables (SIFAV), through which we are – together with the other partners – actively contributing to a more sustainable supply chain for fresh vegetables and fruit. Both ecologically and socially.
In addition, we are taking steps in our due diligence reporting for this initiative. To assess social and environmental risks in our supply chain, we are working with Agriplace in a pilot project. This tool allows us to make our supply chain transparent and provides a link to a risk database.
Together with Delhaize and the Belgian divisions of Aldi, Lidl and Jumbo, we signed a commitment to guarantee workers at banana plantations a living wage by 2027.
Beyond Chocolate
In 2018 we co-signed Beyond Chocolate. This sector agreement wants to improve the living conditions of cocoa producers by 2030, inter alia by guaranteeing them a living income. The cocoa farmers in our chain project in Ivory Coast already receive a living income reference price from us.
Green Consumption Pledge
In January 2021, Colruyt Group was one of the first endorsers of the European Green Consumption Pledge , whereby a number of leading companies voluntarily committed themselves to promote more sustainable consumption and production patterns. Specifically, we made a commitment to reduce our own ecological footprint and to clearly communicate our sustainability approach to consumers and other stakeholders. In that way, we promote the dialogue in society and we create a common basis for increasing sustainability further.
EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices
In July 2021, Colruyt Group co-endorsed the European ‘Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices’. With it, companies in the retail sector and food industry commit to improving their performance and communication in the area of sustainability. In concrete terms, we are committed to promoting more sustainable consumption patterns and to reducing the ecological footprint of food products.
Our partnerships
We exchange knowledge and experiences with committed, like-minded partners via partnerships.
CIFAL Flanders
Colruyt Group is a partner organisation of the ‘SDG Learning Network’ of CIFAL Flanders, the Flemish expertise centre for the Sustainable Development Goals.
By integrating sustainability into all aspects of our entrepreneurship, we actively contribute to the realisation of these 17 sustainability goals of the United Nations. As 'SDG Voice', we keep pulling the cart together with other pacesetters - in Belgium and outside of it.
The Shift
The Shift is a network of diverse Belgian organisations and companies, united around a common goal: actively striving together towards a more sustainable economy and society. The Sustainable Development Goals form a joint framework that connects, commits and motivates its members to undertake action. At Colruyt Group as well, we see companies as a major engine for change. Through our membership of The Shift, we connect with a wider network of sustainability pioneers and can take action together.
&Wider
Colruyt Group sees sustainability as a process of continuous improvement. We ask all our suppliers to honour our Code of Conduct and for high-risk countries we ask for a social audit (Amfori BSCI).
In the search for ways to better identify risks in our supply chains, we launched a pilot project on direct worker reporting in 2023, together with our partner &Wider. In collaboration with our fruit suppliers in South Africa, we are directly surveying workers about their working conditions. Through direct worker reporting, we want to gain a better understanding of their experiences in our value chains and identify opportunities for improvement. We are also drawing lessons to refine our due diligence system.
