Environment and Sustainability

Energy reduction

Our distribution centres, warehouses and associated refrigeration systems are the largest users of energy across our businesses and represent our greatest opportunities for energy reduction.

This year we reduced our total energy use by 7% from 446,361GJ to 415,485GJ. The improvement was largely driven by initiatives including the retrofitting of LED lighting across our distribution network, as well as more efficient energy usage. Many of our Distribution Centres have now implemented the off-peak  charging of forklifts, as well as refrigeration and lighting controls to reduce electricity usage.

Waste

We remain focused on reducing waste and diverting material from landfill and continue to work closely with our waste and recycling contractors to achieve  this. In FY18, 82.5% of our waste was diverted from landfill, with the majority being paper, plastics and cardboard sent for recycling; as well as over 300  tonnes of food that was donated to Foodbank.

In 2017, Metcash and our independent retailers committed to eliminate the  distribution and sale of single use plastic bags by 30 June 2018.

In April 2018, Metcash joined the Australian Packaging Covenant’s Soft Plastic Working Group to collaborate with government and industry partners to  reduce the use of soft plastic. We anticipate working closely with this group to develop innovative solutions to repurpose soft plastic. This will include liaising with our suppliers to support the reduction of plastic packaging across our  private label and fresh product range.