From Pilots to Scale: Where Grocery Sustainability is Headed
Retail Council of Canada's Retail Sustainability Conference returns October 27-28 with two hands-on workshops, a new awards program and an agenda of national and global sustainability leaders. Michael Zabaneh, RCC's Vice-President, Sustainability, explains what's on the program and why it matters for grocery.
Why do packaging, textile circularity and EPR harmonization lead the agenda, and why does grocery need to be involved now?
Grocery and CPG companies sit at the centre of packaging, private brands, EPR and complex national supply chains. For them, these issues show up in day-to-day business decisions.
EPR is a good example. There are now more than 110 programs across Canada, and compliance costs are in upwards of $3 billion. Recycling targets and reporting requirements keep expanding too, with increasing pressure to make packaging more recyclable and use more recycled content.
Greater harmonization would help national businesses reduce duplication, streamline reporting and scale consistent data and management solutions across provinces. It can also help align recycling operations, scale solutions and improve performance against recovery and recycling targets. That's why regulatory and operational harmonization is a central theme on this year's agenda.
The two workshops are built for action. What will participants take away?
These are working sessions, not lectures. Retailers and CPGs will work alongside government, industry experts, suppliers and other stakeholders to look at what's getting in the way, test practical solutions and agree on possible next steps.
We developed the Recycled Content Workshop with ECCC and the Association of Plastic Recyclers. It looks at what it will take to grow demand and investment in recycled content in Canada, and the market and policy conditions needed to use recycled materials at scale. What comes out of the room should inform industry action and future policy.
The ZEV Workshop applies the same approach to fleets. We'll get into zero-emission delivery, fleet transition, shared charging infrastructure, financing and what it takes to scale. Many retailers run large distribution networks, so the focus is on getting past pilots to something workable, including shared infrastructure.
Why launch the Retail Sustainability Excellence Awards now?
Sustainability in retail and CPG has matured in recent years. More companies have moved past commitments and pilots to implementation, scale and measurable results. The awards are a way to recognize that progress and the organizations doing the work.
There are 60 finalists across ten categories, from sustainable packaging design to low-carbon logistics. That range shows how sustainability now runs across the business. We're also presenting our first-ever Sustainable Leader of the Year Award to Kathleen McLaughlin, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Walmart Inc., and Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO, SC Johnson.
What role do technology providers and suppliers play, and where are the most promising solutions coming from?
Retailers and CPG companies are navigating a more complex operating environment — from climate risk and rising energy costs to trade, tariffs and supply-chain disruption. Suppliers and technology providers have an important role in helping businesses respond, whether through packaging, recycling, logistics, energy or data solutions that improve efficiency and resilience.
The most promising solutions deliver both environmental and business value: AI-enabled data management and reporting for increasingly complex regulations, better packaging and materials, energy and operational optimization, and smarter supply-chain management. Many of those companies will be on the exhibitor floor, where attendees can see them first-hand and talk with the people behind them.
For more information, visit rccretailsustainability.ca.