As one of Australia's largest retailers, Coles recognises the effect it may have on the environment and therefore we’re committed to finding ways to reduce any negative impact and enhance the environment we live in.
That’s why we take our environmental and social responsibility seriously. Through key partnerships and support for vital environmental projects we strive to give our customers not just value and quality, but peace-of-mind as well.
Find out more about Coles and the Environment via the links below:
Landcare Australia
Since 2001, Coles has enjoyed a close association with Landcare Australia, helping to fund sustainable environmental projects across Australia. Our partnership has focused on protecting and rehabilitating our natural resources and teaching our younger generations about caring for the communities and environment that we live in.
Coles has been a Diamond Partner of Landcare since 2008, due to our contribution towards Junior Landcare and other environmental projects.
Through these endeavours, and with the dedication of Landcare and its volunteers, we hope to build a sustainable future for our customers, our business and the environment.
Landcare is a uniquely Australian partnership between the community, the government and businesses aimed at doing something practical about protecting and repairing our environment. Landcare assists to develop and manage sustainable environmental projects across Australia in areas of need. They are led by the national network of thousands of dedicated Landcarers and community members who volunteer their time to these projects to improve the environment and their local communities.
Coles School Garden Grants
Since 2008, Coles has funded the Coles School Garden Grants Program in partnership with Junior Landcare. So far we have assisted 1000 schools and community groups in establishing their own garden projects within their schools and communities.
Successful grant recipients receive up to $1000 to help establish a community garden and learn more about the environment. The program encourages students to get involved and get their hands dirty by helping to prepare soil for planting to harvest their garden’s crop.
So far many schools have established native, waterwise gardens and sustainable gardens and many of the fresh fruit, veggie and herbs that have been grown have ended up in school kitchens and cooking classes.
The program is funded through the sale of reusable shopping bags sold at Coles.
For more information or to apply for a Coles School Garden Grant, please visit the Junior Landcare corporate partners page.
“My Favourite Thing In The Garden” Photo Competition
March 2011 marked an exciting milestone for Coles and Junior Landcare. We are celebrating funding 1000 school and community group garden projects since the program commenced in 2008.
To celebrate, the 1000 schools and community groups which have received a grant were invited to participate in a fun photography competition called “My favourite thing in the garden”.
We received hundreds of amazing entries from around the country and we’re proud to announce the winners;
- Junior: up to 7 year olds - Mitchell Turner, Middle Harbour Public School, NSW
- Intermediate: 8 to 12 year olds - Ben Fragiadakis, St James Primary School, Muswellbrook, NSW
- Senior: 13 to 18 year olds - Claire Mackintosh, Mount Carmel College, TAS
- People's Choice - Jack Lockhart - St James Primary, Muswellbrook, NSW
- Australian Geographic’s Choice - George Haddad, Keira High School
Congratulations to all of the winners and well done to everyone who participated! You can check out the winning photos at www.1000gardens.com.au
Read the press release about Coles and Junior Landcare 1000 garden projects.
Coles Bag Drive
In the lead up to World Environment Day 2010, Coles launched a recycling solution for reusable green bags, solving the problem of what to do with old or unwanted green bags.
To date, two bag drives have been held and, thanks to shoppers nationwide, more than 78,000 reusable shopping bags were collected and prevented from becoming landfill.
Coles customers across Australia were encouraged to bring their old or unwanted reusable bags into their local Coles supermarket during the drive to ensure they didn’t end up as waste. Bags from the drives have been recycled, turned into outdoor furniture and donated to 100 primary schools.
Combined, the two 2010 Coles bag drives collected an equivalent of 4.7 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill.
Plastic Bag Challenge
As part of a Plastic Bag Challenge launched in September 2009 by Coles and Junior Landcare, over 200,000 bags were returned to Coles.
Schools, businesses and individuals were urged to collect their unwanted plastic bags and place them inside new recycling bins in Coles stores nationwide, with all proceeds from the challenge donated to Junior Landcare and the Coles School Gardens Grants Program.
In total, 229,712 bags were collected by more than 300 participants during the four week challenge, with the majority of bags being collected by 185 primary and secondary schools across Australia.
The winners of the 2009 Coles Plastic Bag Challenge were:
- School category – St Paul Apostle North Primary School (Victoria) with 9,778 bags
- Business category – Serpentine Jarrahdale Shire (Western Australia) with 2,469 bags
- Individual category – Tyler Richardson (Tasmania) with 1,455 bags
Indigenous Bush Tucker Gardens
In September 2009, we extended out relationship with Junior Landcare and launched a Premium Natural Bag with a 10 cent donation to fund community bush tucker gardens. For our first project we have partnered with Gunawirra, a not for profit organisation which delivers music, gardens and other programs to help strengthen Indigenous communities.
With Gunawirra, we have funded garden programs for 31 pre-schools in New South Wales. The communities involved have designed and built gardens which include traditional bush tucker plants and vegetables. Part of the program involves cooking classes for parents, visits to Coles stores and community barbeque days.
For more information about Indigenous bush Tucker gardens please visit Junior Landcare