Discount Retail Chain ALDI North (family owned) is consistently pushing its own sustainability agenda forward. In the current interim report, the discounter published the latest status. Particularly in focus: The topics of packaging, climate protection and conscious nutrition.
In its current interim report, the ALDI North Group provides transparent information on its progress in terms of sustainability. Be it the expansion of the sustainable product range, the ecological procurement of raw materials or the respect for human rights in global supply chains the discounter has made considerable progress in all areas in recent years. Looking back on the 2020 reporting year, Rolf Buyle, Managing Director International Buying, states: "The corona pandemic has once again made it clear that we as a food supplier have a special responsibility. We not only take this responsibility towards our customers and employees, but also true to the environment and society. Our interim report shows where the ALDI North Group currently is and where we want to be. "
New international packaging targets decided
Packaging continues to be a central sustainability issue for the entire ALDI North Group. The basic principles of the circular economy serve as a guideline: "Avoid. Reuse. Recycle". In Germany alone, ALDI North has already saved 38,000 tonnes of packaging since 2015. The discounter is also making good progress with the goals of making 100 percent of its own-brand packaging recyclable by 2025 and offering at least 40 percent of the fruit and vegetable range unpackaged by 2025.
More ambitious international packaging goals were recently defined: In order to reduce the use of new plastics, the proportion of recycled materials in all own-brand plastic product packaging is to be increased to an average of at least 30 percent by 2025. Already today there are numerous articles with a high proportion of recycled material in the ALDI Nord range, such as the chilled 1L orange juice in a PET bottle with 100% recycled material or the Selection 1L mineral water, which is also gradually being converted to 100% recycled material. The aim is to gradually increase the use of recyclate across all product groups. In addition, by 2025, the total use of new plastics should also decrease by 20 percent compared to 2020. With these new goals, the ALDI North Group is sending out a strong signal for the responsible use of valuable resources.
Climate protection in focus
The discounter has also stepped up its efforts on the subject of climate protection: In July 2020, ALDI North joined the "Science Based Targets Initiative". By joining, the group undertakes to set binding and scientifically verified targets for reducing CO2 emissions over the next two years, which are in line with the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Agreement. First, ALDI North wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by the end of 2021 compared to 2015 and then push this development further.
Enable conscious nutrition for everyone
Another strategic goal is still to enable conscious nutrition for all customers and to promote responsible use of food. In 2020, ALDI Belgium and ALDI France were able to label their first products with the Nutri-Score, while Germany and Spain registered their first own brands for the Nutri-Score in early 2021. In addition, the vegan and vegetarian as well as the organic and fairtrade range has been expanded. Another milestone in 2020 was the development of a new international guideline to prevent food loss and waste. This is the first time that ALDI Nord has created a binding framework for dealing with food waste.
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