Delhaize

Like the other two large supermarket chains, Delhaize makes sustainable development an integral part of its daily work. They launched their New Game Plan in December 2009, making growth, efficiency and sustainability their three priorities.

It took me a very long time to sift through the blurb on the Delhaize site. I don’t think they can be accused of green washing, but their website needs a lot of editing to get down to the nitty gritty. C’mon guys, you’ve nothing to hide! It could also be updated as a lot of the information referred to the year 2010.

Also like Colruyt and Carrefour, Delhaize has a large organic offering, covering textiles, body care and food. They also have a range of Fair Trade foods, as well as Max Havelaar goods. These are clearly labelled:

Delhaize has a range of ecological products that are indicated with these labels:

Delhaize prioritises locally produced goods. All Delhaize branded milk is Belgian as is 99% of the pork meat it sells. They also stock seasonal fruit and vegetables.

The supermarket works with the WWF and Stichting de Noordzee on a sustainable fishing policy, which was rolled out in 2012. They aim to purchase fish, be that fresh, frozen, prepared or tinned, responsibly. With the WWF, they have developed a traffic light ‘fish index’ showing how endangered various species of fish are and suggesting alternatives for you.

On palm oil, Delhaize favours sustainable sources in the event that the oil is indispensible in production.

Right, on to the physical infrastructure of the shops… Delhaize are bit-by-bit replacing the old bulbs in their stores with energy efficient ones. One thing I really like about the Delhaize stores is that in many of them, the fridges have doors to reduce the amount of energy needed to keep the food cool. They have also installed over 100 000m² of solar panels to provide electricity. The hope is that by 2020, they will use 35% less energy than in 2005.

Like the other supermarkets, Delhaize is reducing the amount of packaging they use. One good outcome of this is that their cleaning products are only sold in concentrated form. And of course, the packaging that they do use is recycled: in 2010, up to 72% of their waste was recycled. They also try to cut the amount of food waste but any food that can be, is sent to food banks (153 tons in 2010). Any further leftover food is used to create biogas.

The company refunds 100% of the public transport costs for its employees and encourages them to use bicycles, even going as far as to give a Delhaize bike and clothing to those who come to work by bike 75% of the time! Not bad! Employees can also work, on occasion, from one of the satellite offices outside Brussels instead of coming into the head offices in the city. Company cars are usually hybrid or electric and staff can take lessons in economic driving.

This consciousness extends to customers, with the store car parks also accommodating bike stands.

Transport lorries are the most sustainable possible and thanks to an efficiency programme, they’ve managed to cut 4 million km from routes. They are also looking at other means of transport such as boat, double-deckers and gas-run lorries.

Delhaize participates in project PIEK, a pilot project in Flanders, to test noise reduction initiatives in lorries and shops.

Delhaize works with its partners in sustainability. These partners include the WWF (to reduce the environmental impact and promote sustainable fishing), the Network for Sustainable and Responsible Consumption (developing a campaign to promote the sustainable products and labels to customers) and with Bruxelles Environnement (to serve sustainable and Fairtrade foods in the Delhaize canteens).

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