Kroger pledges 90 percent sourcing from MSC as part of new sustainability commitments

U.S. grocery chain Kroger has announced new seafood sourcing guidelines that include a pledge to source 90 percent of its seafood volume from fisheries that are Marine Stewardship Council-certified.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger operates 2,778 retail food stores in 35 states. The guidelines are part of the company’s larger plan to improve its eco-stewardship by 2020, according to the Progressive Grocer.

“Our goal is to be a positive force for change in our communities and to drive sustainability and innovation across the supply chain,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger chairman and CEO. “We believe that our 2020 goals set the course for this important, ongoing journey.”

According to a separate article from Forbes, Kroger aims to source 100 percent of its wild-caught seafood from MSC-certified fisheries. Currently, Kroger’s numbers stand at about 59 percent for total seafood volume and 83 percent for wild species.

According to the article, Kroger, which logs more than USD 100 billion (EUR 90.5 billion) in annual revenue, has committed to obtaining the following benchmarks by 2020:

  • Source at least 90 percent of its volume from fisheries that are Marine Stewardship Council-certified.
  • Partner with The Sustainability Consortium to assess key commodities using the consortium’s commodity-mapping tool, designed to help identify and further understand social and environmental risks in upstream commodities.
  • Meet and exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s “zero waste” threshold of 90 percent diversion from landfill in its facilities by 2020.
  • Optimize corporate-brand packaging by 2020, following a “balanced, multipronged approach” that considers food safety, shelf life, availability, quality, material type and source, function recyclability, cost, and more.
  •  Improve transportation efficiency by 20 percent.

The announcement came as part of Kroger’s release of its annual sustainability report, released Thursday, 7 July.

"Our 10th annual sustainability report highlights our associates' commitment to make a difference for our communities, our planet and each other," McMullen said.

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