Albertsons charts sustainability progress in latest ESG report

Albertsons Cos. has released its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance Report, highlighting the company’s ESG progress and reaffirming its commitments to fight food insecurity in local communities and embed sustainability practices across its operations, according to a news release.

"Our latest report further solidifies our long-standing commitment to support the thousands of communities we serve and the planet we share,” Albertsons Cos. CEO Vivek Sankaran said in the release. “In 2022, we made meaningful progress against our commitments, further aligning what we do with who we are as a company. We will continue to challenge ourselves to lead positive change as we build upon this momentum to create better lives, vibrant neighborhoods and a healthier planet.”

In April 2022, Albertsons Cos. introduced its Recipe for Change framework, with strategies and goals designed to maximize the company’s positive impact across four pillars: planet, people, product and community.

Areas of focus within Recipe for Change include reducing carbon emissions, cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce, eliminating food waste going to landfills, reducing unnecessary plastics and packaging, and addressing food insecurity.

“The progress we saw in 2022 would not have been possible without the passion and dedication of our associates,” Suzanne Long, chief sustainability and transformation officer at Albertsons Cos., said in the release. “Because of them, we made meaningful changes that improve business performance while reducing our emissions, building belonging with our team members, lessening food waste going to landfill and addressing food insecurity.

“In the year ahead, we plan to expand our engagement for Recipe for Change, including partnering with our vendors to drive industry change and increasing customer involvement in achieving our goals,” Long continued. “By bringing others along on our journey, we can make change a reality.”

According to the release, highlights from the 2023 ESG Report for fiscal year 2022 (unless otherwise noted) include:

Planet

Climate action: Albertsons Cos. is committed to letting science and technology lead the way to reduce carbon emissions across its operations and value chain.

• Reduced carbon emissions in operations by 21% between 2019 and 2022.
• Completed more than 1,100 energy-efficiency projects across its operations in 2022 to reduce energy demand. Projects included installing LED lighting retrofits, doors on refrigerated cases, building management systems and more.
• Completed more than 85 refrigeration projects across its operations in 2022 to transition stores to lower global warming potential refrigerants.
• Recycled more than 850 million pounds of cardboard and 27 million pounds of plastic film and bags in 2022.

People

Diversity, equity and inclusion: Albertsons Cos. is committed to cultivating a diverse workforce and fostering an inclusive culture that embraces differences and provides equal opportunity for all associates.

• Launched a companywide inclusion index, which enables associates to share their individual perspectives and help foster a culture where everyone is treated with courtesy, dignity and respect.
• Launched the company’s eighth associate resource group, DiverseABILITY, which focuses on providing awareness, celebration and opportunities for people with diverse abilities, their caretakers and allies.
• Trained over 15,000 leaders through “Leading with Inclusion” workshops, designed to heighten awareness around bias and provide tools to support a more inclusive work environment.

Product

Waste reduction and circularity: Albertsons Cos. is committed to eliminating food waste going to landfills, reducing the use of plastic and packaging in Own Brands products and accelerating a transition to a more circular economy.

• Achieved the goal to provide standardized recycling communications on more than 7,000 Own Brands packaged products through How2Recycle labels and QR codes.
• Leveraged innovative artificial intelligence technology across nearly all Albertsons Cos. stores to accurately order and produce the correct amount and assortment of products for customers and reduce unsold food.
• Diverted more than 321 million pounds of food and trimmings from landfills through composting, innovative upcycling solutions and anaerobic digestion, which turns food waste into a rich soil supplement.

Community

Community stewardship: Albertsons Cos. is committed to fighting food insecurity at a local level, so all neighbors can thrive.

• Enabled 254 million meals through store food donations and Albertsons Cos. Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbors program, totaling more than 950 million meals since 2019.
• Raised more than $40 million through Nourishing Neighbors, enabling 188 million meals in 2022.
• Improved access to nutritious food by rolling out a new online service for Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) recipients that enables Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) customers to use their benefits when purchasing groceries online.