BRAMPTON, ON, June 26, 2012 /CNW/ - (TSX: L) - In the past year, Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) has made tremendous
progress toward its sustainable seafood goal of sourcing 100 per cent
of its seafood from sustainable sources by year-end 2013. Key
milestones include industry collaborations as well as providing
customers with more sustainable seafood options and improving
awareness.
Loblaw's major achievements include tripling the number of Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC) certified wild-caught seafood in stores and
offering WiseSource™ Salmon in more Loblaw banner stores in Atlantic
Canada, Ontario and Quebec this year. The Company has also improved
the management of its seafood buying process with the implementation of
a vendor questionnaire in Spring 2012.
"For the balance of year, Loblaw remains focused on increasing
engagement with consumers, suppliers and key industry stakeholders,"
said Paul Uys, vice president, sustainable seafood, Loblaw Companies
Limited. "While we still have work ahead of us, we are confident that
we have paved the road for success."
Quotes:
"Loblaw has developed the most aggressive sustainable seafood commitment
in the world," says Gerald Butts, president & ceo, WWF Canada. "Through
its collaboration within the supply chain, investment in education, and
stakeholder and government engagement, Loblaw is driving large-scale
transformational change."
"The Marine Stewardship Council applauds Loblaw for the introduction of
fresh MSC-certified seafood in stores," says Kerry Coughlin, MSC
regional director, Americas. "With 73 MSC certified wild-caught seafood
products, Loblaw remains the largest seller of MSC-certified products
in Canada."
2011 Sustainable Seafood Progress Report:
More responsible seafood options available for consumers
-
More than tripled the number of MSC-certified wild-caught seafood
products in stores, from 22 in 2010 to 73 by year-end 2011.
-
Introduced MSC-certified wild-caught fresh fish at the seafood counters
in 12 Greater Toronto Area stores.
-
Expanded WiseSource™ Salmon in Ontario and Quebec stores and introduced
the product throughout Atlantic Canada.
Industry Collaboration
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Engaged partners and vendors to source viable solutions for closed
containment aquaculture.
-
Engaged national brand vendors to implement MSC certification for their
seafood products.
-
Participated in the global Salmon Aquaculture Dialogues - a
WWF-initiated roundtable focused on managing the environmental and
social impacts of salmon farming.
-
Implemented a proprietary vendor questionnaire to assess and manage our
seafood buying process.
Customer engagement
-
Educated and engaged consumers about sustainable seafood through www.oceansfortomorrow.ca, Facebook and various in-store marketing materials.
2012 Targets:
Offer customers more responsible Seafood Options:
-
Launch Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)-certified WiseSource™ Tilapia in our stores.
-
Establish MSC Chain of Custody Certification for fresh seafood counters
in corporate stores and distribution centres.
Work with partners and suppliers to drive progress in new and meaningful
ways:
-
Complete vendor questionnaire analysis to identify remaining high-risk
species/stocks and vendors unable or unwilling to meet Loblaw's
criteria for sustainability.
-
Where there is an MSC-certified fishery in place, convert, or have an
action plan in place to convert, all outstanding control brand products
to MSC sources.
Industry collaboration:
-
Become members of the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization
(IFFO) and begin conversion to 100% feed, with fishmeal and fish oil,
certified against the IFFO Responsible Supply standard for all our
control brand aquaculture programs.
-
Continue to work toward appropriate solutions to managing species at
risk in partnership with the fishing industry, WWF and our independent
marine science advisor.
Customer engagement:
-
Continue to engage and educate customers through consumer-focused,
in-store events, online at www.oceansfortomorrow.ca, Loblaw's sustainable seafood Facebook page and various in-store
marketing materials.
Loblaw's sustainable seafood commitment is driven by its corporate
social responsibility principle, Source with Integrity. A commitment to Source with Integrity is one of five Loblaw corporate social responsibility principles,
including Respect the Environment, Make a Positive Difference in Our Community,
Reflect our Nation's Diversity and Be a Great Place to Work.
For more information about Loblaw's sustainable seafood commitment
please visit: www.loblaw.ca/seafood, www.oceansfortomorrow.ca and www.facebook.com/LoblawSustainableSeafood.
About Loblaw Companies Limited (TSX: L)
Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is
Canada's largest food retailer and a leading provider of drugstore,
general merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one
of the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than 1,000
corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw and its
franchisees employ more than 135,000 full-time and part-time employees.
Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw is committed to
providing Canadians with a wide, growing and successful range of
products and services to meet the everyday household demands of
Canadian consumers. Loblaw is known for the quality, innovation and
value of its food offering. It offers Canada's strongest control
(private) label program, including the unique President's Choice®, no name® and Joe Fresh® brands. In addition, the Company makes available to consumers President's Choice Financial® services and offers the PC® points loyalty program.
More information about Loblaw's corporate social responsibility (CSR)
commitments and performance visit www.loblaw.ca/csr.