Our Planet
Rescuing Veggie Scraps for Compost
The Metcash Food & Grocery team at Rocklea, Queensland is continually looking for opportunities to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill. The site distributes fresh fruit and vegetables to local grocers and produces off-cuts, such as cauliflower leaves, in the process. Historically, this high-quality organic waste made up approximately 60% of the general waste which went to landfill.
In partnership with its waste contractor, Remondis, the site has installed dedicated recycling bins to collect organics which are taken to a nearby composting facility. In the first three months following implementation, close to four tonnes of organic material has been diverted from landfill and converted into compost.
Supporting sustainable agriculture in Queensland
IGA stores are independently owned by local people in communities across Australia. They work with their suppliers to bring customers the best range of healthy, affordable produce at affordable prices.
In North Queensland, Peter Le Feur manages his family owned Mango farm. He supplies fresh, healthy mangoes to surrounding IGAs bringing their customers sustainable and nutritious produce direct from the farm gate.
Peter is passionate about organic farming, creating healthy ecosystems on his land by using minimal pesticides and fertilizers. He is passionate about educating the next generation on the importance of organic farming to human health and to our environment.
The overuse of pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture results in soil contamination, habitat destruction and water pollution. Some pesticides are also damaging to human health.
Supporting sustainable agriculture
The owners of IGA stores care about supporting local farmers using sustainable agriculture techniques.
Glenn and Katrina Morris from Figtree Organic Farms supply to surrounding IGAs bringing their customers fresh, sustainable and nutritious produce, direct from the farm gate.
Glenn is passionate about organic farming, creating healthy ecosystems on his land by using no pesticides or fertilisers. Katrina is passionate about education and teaching children the importance of understanding where their food comes from for their health and well-being.
The overuse of pesticides and fertilisers in agriculture results in soil contamination, habitat destruction and water pollution. Some pesticides are also damaging to human health.
Our People
ALM ‘Plate 4 Plate’ Volunteer Day
In October 2023, the ALM National Operations team took some time out to support Zambrero Plate 4 Plate Day. The team is located across the country and, as Zambrero Plate 4 Plate takes place in every State, it was fantastic to be able to volunteer together. The team found the day extremely rewarding and enjoyed giving back by taking part in a meal packing day to help those in need, resulting in ~470,000 meals packed.
Our Community
Northern Independents Raise Awareness for the McGrath Foundation
In October 2023, Northern Independents, a group of independent hardware stores located in the northeast of NSW banded together to raise ~$26k for the McGrath Foundation. The goal was to raise money and awareness to support people diagnosed with breast cancer. This is addition to the $300k of financial support from the IGA Community Chest program.
IGA plants 20,000 trees in partnership with Greening Australia
A new partnership with not-for-profit Greening Australia was launched in FY24. Greening Australia’s efforts focus on delivering biodiverse, climate resilient restoration where people and nature thrive. Thanks to the support of suppliers, shoppers and IGA retailers for the ‘Buy One Get One Tree’ program, ~20,000 trees have been donated in a short period of time. It is expected to reach a total of ~65,000 trees by September this year. These trees are being planted by Greening Australia in locations where they are needed most.