Last week, Sainsbury’s earned a dubious distinction. It is now the UK’s first large supermarket chain to be prosecuted for using excessive packaging.
The case, being brought by trading standards at Lincolnshire County Council alleges that a beef product from a market in Lincoln does not meet the legal requirements for packaging.
Following similar news from other grocery retailers such as Walmart Canada and Metro, Delhaize America has announced last week that all of its supermarkets are now part of a new sustainable seafood program.
The new comprehensive seafood policy –which applies to all supermarkets in the chain, including Hannaford, Sweetbay, the Food Lion family of banners and Bottom Dollar Food — requires suppliers to verify that seafood is coming from sources managed for sustainability. It applies to all seafood in the stores, including fresh, frozen and packaged fish and shellfish. (more…)
Earlier this week, Greenpeace upped the ante in its sustainable seafood campaign by explicitly targeting Costco with a press release and a less-than-flattering YouTube video.
Greenpeace, which has published a sustainable seafood guide since 2008 (see an earlier post here), says Costco lacks a transparent and meaningful sustainable seafood policy and has continually proven to be one of the poorest performing big box stores in the United States in terms of seafood sustainability. (more…)
In a move that strengthens the company’s commitment to corporate responsibility, Metro Inc. announced last week that it has adopted a sustainable fisheries policy for seafood products sold in its stores.
Starting in September 2010, Metro will stop selling a number of threatened species and will change its product labeling. By refusing to sell threatened species, the company says it hopes to help the recovery of fish stocks and the conservation of ocean diversity.
With annual sales of over $11 billion, Metro is a leader in the food and pharmaceutical sectors in Québec and Ontario, where it operates a network of more than 600 food stores and more than 250 drugstores. Walmart Canada announced a similar sustainable seafood policy last month.
Metro’s new sustainable fisheries policy involves four key supply criteria: (more…)
