2024 Impact Award winners: Sustainability
Now in its fourth year, the Canadian Grocer Impact Awards celebrates Canadian grocery retail and CPG businesses that are going above and beyond to make the world a better place
We recognized 41 winners in 2024 for making a positive impact in the areas of sustainability, supporting employees, diversity, equity & inclusion and community service.
See the full list of winners here.
Fifteen companies won in the category of sustainability. Here’s why:
Café William
Quebec-based Café William’s ambition is to make the world’s most sustainable cup of coffee. While brainstorming how to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, the team invested in a zero-emissions, wind-powered cargo sailboat to transport beans from coffee-growing regions to North America.
Last December, after two years of research and planning, Café William embarked on its first sailing of 72,000 kilograms of coffee beans from Colombia to North America. Another eco-friendly move for the company was implementing the world’s first 100% industrial hydroelectric roaster, which helped the company become Certified B Corp as of February 2024. “Our initiatives strive to establish a pioneering benchmark for sustainability in the coffee industry,” explains Kathleen Théorêt, marketing director at Café William.
Looking to the future, Café William hopes to have a fleet of sailboats in operation by partnering with maritime transport company TOWT. The company’s next shipment in the fall of 2024 will increase its capacity to one million kilograms of beans. Café William is also on the waiting list for electric trucks, which will make it one of the first companies in Quebec to implement 100% electric trucks for deliveries.
Calgary Co-op
Calgary Co-op is taking “clean” business practices to a new level. Through partnerships with local companies and the use of a carbon capture system implemented in 2023, carbon emissions from the organization’s head office are now being converted into pearl ash, a key ingredient in six, all-natural, private-label Cal & Gary’s Carbon Capture Bar Soaps sold in its stores.
To reduce food waste, the grocer also runs a successful Fresh Food Rescue Program across 19 of its stores where perishable, but still fresh food items nearing their expiry dates, are delivered to those in need. Since launching in 2021, the program has provided more than 2.9 million pounds of food to the Calgary Food Bank.
READ: Calgary Co-op debuts carbon-captured bar soap
“The Fresh Food Rescue Program means so much to the Calgary Co-op team as it embodies our commitment to sustainability and supporting our community,” says Calgary Co-op CEO Ken Keelor. “We are incredibly proud of this initiative’s success in addressing food insecurity, while also championing our core values of sustainability.”
The grocer has also implemented EV charging stations at select locations and is improving energy efficiency in-store with LED lighting, upgraded refrigeration systems and the use of high-efficiency cogeneration systems.
Cascades Specialty Products Group
Innovative and sustainable egg packaging by Cascades is addressing the need for economically viable packaging solutions in the organic and free-range egg categories.
Cascades’ goal was to create a packaging solution that would be sustainable, practical and appealing to consumers, retailers and processors. It would compete with PET and polystyrene egg packaging, which pose significant environmental concerns.
Cascades’ recyclable and compostable Fresh Guard EnVision 12-egg carton is made from 100% recycled fibres. It includes a patented deep tray that conforms to the eggs’ shape, reducing breakage and improving protection. The packaging offers optimal visibility of the eggs from the top of the container, reducing the need to open containers and lowering the risk of breakage. It is easy to handle and is highly efficient in terms of storage, offering significant space savings.
“Our team is committed to supporting customers in finding solutions for all their packaging needs, from farm to factory to store to home,” says Jérôme Porlier, president and chief operating officer of Cascades Specialty Products Group. The goal was “to develop a solution that was sustainable, attractive, efficient and comprehensive.”
Bimbo Canada
Since launching its sustainability strategy in 2021, Bimbo Canada is making progress towards achieving zero direct emissions by 2040, and net zero supply chain emissions by 2050. Bimbo boasts operating more “Energy Star-Certified” industrial facilities than any company in Canada and is the only Canadian company to have two facilities complete the Energy Star Challenge, reducing plant energy intensity by 10% in less than five years.
Last year, Bimbo invested in an electric shunt truck that reduced shunting-related emissions at its largest bakery by 72%. It is also completing installation on a groundbreaking energy transformation project at five facilities that implements line-level, real-time cloud monitoring of all major consumers of energy, water, steam and compressed air. The project will use artificial intelligence to find patterns and opportunities for further energy conservation and is so innovative that multiple government departments have invested in it, given the potential to scale findings across the entire food and beverage sector.
“Operating more sustainably not only aligns with our core values as an organization, it’s also good for business,” says Jeff Robertson, director of environment & sustainability at Bimbo Canada. “Along with our social sustainability work, we take environmental stewardship seriously and recognize that the food system has a big impact on the planet.”
Danone Canada
Danone Canada recently reframed its sustainability program through the launch of the Danone Impact Journey, which is centred around the pillars of health, nature, people and communities.
The company’s ambition is to make food a solution that preserves and regenerates nature. As such, Danone has made a commitment to decarbonizing its business and curbing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Danone also aims to pioneer and scale regenerative agriculture, preserve and restore watersheds where it operates and reduce water usage, while driving the transition to a circular and low-carbon packaging system and cutting waste across its value chain.
ual purpose of creating value for both our business and communities at the centre of everything we do,” says Pascal Lachance, director, sustainability at Danone Canada. “This framework brings higher cross-functional ways of working throughout all sectors of our organization and ensures we all work in the same direction. With impact firmly anchored in our business structure, this clear framework helps us drive our actions and progress for the future.”
Gray Ridge Egg Farms
As part of a broader mission to reduce its environmental footprint and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, Gray Ridge Egg Farms launched a solar energy initiative at the end of 2023. At its farm and grading station properties, the company installed solar panels that have the potential to produce 2,000 kilowatts of DC capacity: the equivalent of powering 50 to 65 households daily. This translates into energy use reductions of up to 13% at its Listowel, Ont. grading station, up to 26% at its Strathroy, Ont. grading station and an impressive 100% reduction in energy consumption at six of its egg producer barns in Southwestern Ontario.
By using solar panels, the company gains access to a clean and renewable source of energy that emits no greenhouse gases or pollutants associated with fossil fuels, allowing the company to reduce its carbon footprint.
“We are excited to continue to harness the power of the sun and share with others what we have learned with this initiative,” explains Hollie Chavarria, sustainability manager at Gray Ridge Egg Farms. The company hopes its solar energy initiative will help set a new standard for environmental sustainability within the grocery industry.
Longo’s
With more and more people transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs), Longo’s took the initiative to make it convenient to charge up at its stores. Now customers and staff can charge their EVs at any of the Level 2 charging stations available at 17 Longo’s locations. In 2022 alone, this infrastructure enabled users to eliminate 32,939 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
READ: Longo’s unveils seven new fast-charging EV stations at Oakville store
Earlier this year, with $500,000 of funding from Natural Resources Canada, the grocer introduced a cutting-edge, battery-powered EV charging solution at its North Oakville, Ont. store. It features seven Level 3 chargers with a 600 kilowatt-hour battery system that seamlessly powers up to seven 150 kilowatt-hour fast chargers. The system also has the capability to provide backup power to the store in the event of a power outage.
“Our target to have EV stations available at all locations (where feasible) by 2025 reinforces our commitment to environmental stewardship, one of the three pillars of our sustainability strategy,” says Dave Mastroieni, the grocer’s vice-president of procurement & facilities. “Our recent deployment of battery-powered EV chargers represents a significant step forward in electrification infrastructure.”
Metro
In April 2023, Metro took action to turn food waste into a valuable resource with the launch of its Animal Feed Program. The program supports a circular food system by diverting unsold food not fit for human consumption—and otherwise destined for landfill or rendering processors, which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions—to wildlife rescue centres and farmers where it is repurposed as animal feed. The program has helped the grocer reduce disposal costs while helping advance its waste diversion targets. Today, 28 Metro stores in Ontario are participating in the program and between July 2023 and March 2024 (the latest numbers available) more than 600 metric tons of food waste has been diverted.
“The initiative was important to launch as it supports a circular food system, moves food waste up the food loss and waste hierarchy and prevents valuable resources from ending up in landfills,” says Valerie Loubert, environmental advisor, Ontario at Metro, adding that the grocer plans to continue to expand the program in Ontario and Quebec in 2024.
Lactalis Canada
“We are constantly finding new and innovative ways of reducing our carbon footprint,” says Éric Séguin, senior vice-president of supply chain at Lactalis Canada. The company’s Intermodal Transportation Program is a perfect example. Since the program’s launch four years ago, 70% of Lactalis products transported from Eastern to Western Canada have transitioned from road to rail. This strategic move has decreased the company’s dependency on truck transportation, which is not only improving operational efficiency and route optimization but also, of course, enhancing sustainability.
The Intermodal Transportation Program has significantly lowered the dairy giant’s carbon footprint and contributed to an eco-friendlier approach in its logistics operations. “The success story of this program is that it has improved, overall, operational efficiency, optimized distribution routes and reduced more than 14,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e), which is the equivalent of taking 3,000 trucks off the road annually,” says Séguin.
Maple Leaf Foods
Maple Leaf Foods is now in its fifth year of being a carbon-neutral food company, a trailblazing move to tackle climate change. “We’re not waiting for solutions to protect the planet—we’re creating them,” says Randy Huffman, chief food safety and sustainability officer at Maple Leaf Foods.
“We have been successful in maintaining carbon neutrality every year since 2019 because we have a rigorous carbon management strategy in place,” Huffman adds. This strategy includes avoiding and reducing greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible, and for the remaining and currently unavoidable emissions, purchasing verified carbon offsets to neutralize emissions. “We neutralize all of our remaining Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a portion of our Scope 3 emissions on an annual basis,” he says.
Other actions include deploying a sustainability execution task force and several longer-term high-impact projects, including scaling up its regenerative agriculture initiatives and investments, and finalizing the business case to secure pending approval for the next phase of engineering work on anaerobic digestion. “Our vision to be the ‘most sustainable protein company on earth’ drives us forward each day, and becoming the world’s first major carbon neutral food company was a big step in our journey,” says Huffman.
Upshop (formerly Invafresh)
Most grocers are eager to address the problem of food waste, but they aren’t always sure how to do it effectively. That’s where Upshop’s AI-enhanced platform comes in: retailers can use it to solve sustainability challenges across the entire supply chain. Upshop (formerly Invafresh) uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize inventory at every step. Its demand forecasting engine helps retailers accurately predict future ordering needs to prevent excess food from ending up at the store. Then, the optimized markdowns and expiry management solutions ensure products are sold before they spoil; and finally, the company’s donation management solutions help retailers redistribute surplus food to those in need.
One success story is Price Chopper, where the platform has helped the U.S.- based grocer prevent 20 tons of fresh food waste per week. Projected over three years, this partnership is anticipated to prevent more than 3,000 tons of food waste across 131 stores. “Waste represents a loss of investment for retailers and producers and those losses are passed along at some point,” says Mike Weber, Upshop’s chief marketing officer. “Equally, there are still millions of people in the world facing food insecurity; it’s our responsibility to ensure food is available, accessible and affordable to all.”
Nature’s Path Foods
Regenerative organic certified (ROC) farming represents the highest standard for organic agriculture in the world because of its stringent standards for things such as soil health, carbon capture in soil and protecting the welfare of farm workers. In 2017, Nature’s Path played a pioneering role as a contributor to the development of the ROC standard.
Nature’s Path donates $100,000 annually to support 25 organic producers to farm approximately 15,000 organic acres on the Canadian Prairies using a range of regenerative organic best management practices chosen to build climate resilience into the food system.
Nature’s Path is also the first company to create a supply chain out of regenerative organic certified oats. This year, it launched two oatmeal products using regenerative organic certified oats—the first ROC oatmeal products the market has seen. “Grocers are crucial to amplifying the benefits and importance of regenerative organic farming,” explains Jyoti Stephens, vice-president of mission and strategy at Nature’s Path Foods. “As decision-makers, grocers can prioritize and promote regenerative organic certified products on the shelf.”
Nortera Foods
Nortera Foods is fighting food waste and reducing its carbon footprint through the development of Arctic Gardens Perfectly Imperfect, a new upcycled vegetable blend.
The new, frozen upcycled vegetable blend is made with crop leftovers and trimmings of carrots, cauliflower, butternut squash, broccoli and rutabaga. The company says it’s ideal for soups, stir-fries, gratins and sauces.
The product development phase of the project was initiated at the beginning of 2023 and continued until early 2024. Production began in June and Perfectly Imperfect is set to hit store shelves in August.
The vegetable blend will help fight food waste, and the company is looking for other ways to revalue its processed vegetables by developing circular economy partnerships. Arctic Gardens Perfectly Imperfect could eventually be extended to other varieties of vegetable blends.
“With this new upcycled Perfectly Imperfect vegetables mix, we saw an opportunity to help consumers fight against food waste and save money, to truly make a difference, one bag of vegetables at a time,” says Adeline Mabilat, retail brand manager at Nortera Foods.
Irving Consumer Products
In March 2023, Irving Consumer Products announced its Royale tissue products had been verified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust—a global, independent certification body specializing in the verification of carbon footprints.
“Our commitment is rooted in our core value to operate at the highest standards to ensure the protection of employees, the public and the environment,” says Robert K. Irving, president of Irving Consumer Products and co-CEO of J.D. Irving Limited.
The verification includes the carbon footprint of all scopes including input materials, production, distribution, usephase and end-of-life phase of the tissue products. “Households across Canada use Royale tissue products in their homes every day, so we’re thrilled to be able to reward that choice with a carbon-neutral product that brings unchanged premium quality, value and softness that Royale consumers expect,” adds Irving.
Spud
With the distribution of reusable bags increasing and single-use plastic declining as stores attempt to reduce waste, many people are finding their stashes of reusable bags at home are piling up.
To deal with this issue, SPUD’s Be Fresh and Organic Acres stores in Vancouver came up with the Reusable Bag Library, to help customers share what they already have.
The Reusable Bag Library allows customers to donate their unused or unwanted reusable bags in hampers in Be Fresh and Organic Acres stores. The bags are then picked up and washed. Customers who forget to bring their own bags can then borrow bags free of charge.
“We all have a stack way too big of extra totes in our back cupboards,” notes Ashley Sugar, market manager at Be Fresh and Organic Acres.
Re-use is the most underrated ‘R’ in our minds! Our reusable bag library is a win-win-win for our customers, store and the environment,” Sugar says. “With our bag library, we can reduce the number of bags that need to be purchased, our customers have a place to take their old bags and, in turn, never have to feel guilty about forgetting one!”
Winners of the 2024 Impact Awards are featured in Canadian Grocer’s August issue.
