Hear directly from our business community leaders in this corporate partner series!
Contributed by Tina Ford
Sharing Our Value
We’re changing the way America eats—to nourish our communities, protect our planet and create a future with Zero Hunger | Zero Waste.
Kroger’s objective is to achieve lasting positive change for billions of people and for our planet by 2030. To do this, we are building a shared-value ESG framework that will unlock greater business value as we work collectively to create more resilient, equitable and sustainable systems.
There is a fundamental absurdity in our food system: 35% of the food produced in the U.S. is thrown away, yet an estimated 42 million Americans struggle with hunger. We can help. Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social and environmental impact plan is our commitment to help create a more efficient and equitable food and charitable food system.
Zero Waste As part of Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, Kroger is committed to eliminating waste across our company by 2025. As a result of our associates’ hard work, we are now diverting 81% of waste from landfill, companywide. The amount of food waste produced in our stores decreased by 7.2%, while the amount of food waste diverted from landfill increased by 3.5 percentage points. Through our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Food Rescue Program, we rescued 90 million pounds of food to support our communities—while also preventing food waste in our operations.
Energy Efficiency – Reducing our carbon footprint is an important pillar in Kroger’s sustainability commitment, and we continue to invest in energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies. Increasing energy efficiency, reducing refrigerant emissions and using more renewable energy are key areas of focus.
Renewable Energy – Adopting renewable energy helps Kroger reduce our greenhouse gas impacts. Our two anaerobic digesters turn food waste and food production byproducts into renewable biogas, while our multiple solar power installations generate clean energy. Our Paramount, California, distribution center hosts our largest solar array to date, while our manufacturing team activated their first solar array in early 2020 in La Habra, California.
Find out more here:
https://www.thekrogerco.com/sustainability/zero-hunger-zero-waste/