Coles is investing in important environmental projects and partnerships to reduce our environmental impact. We’re focussed on managing waste (including food waste) and recycling, building more energy efficient stores and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, we're working to maintain food security and adapt to extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change.
Sustainable environment practices
Waste and recycling
To minimise food waste across our supply chains and our own operations, every Coles supermarket and distribution centre is connected to a food waste solution. Rather than going to landfill, food is helping people in need, assisting farmers to feed their animals, being recycled into compost or converted into energy.
Through our partnerships with SecondBite and Foodbank, we've been able to provide more than 130 million healthy and nutritious meals to community organisations across Australia that support people in need. More than 390 stores are connected with farmers who feed their animals with products that can’t go to SecondBite or Foodbank.
We're also reducing food waste in our supply chain by redirecting produce that typically would not be sold into other value-added products. Bananas are used in Coles Brand frozen banana pieces, banana bread and muffins. Cauliflower and broccoli are turned into broccoli and cauliflower rice. These products and others, such as zucchini noodles, sweet potato noodles and sweet potato chips, are all helping our suppliers use up more of their crops and cut food waste. With less food going to landfill, we're also helping to lower our greenhouse gas emissions as part of our climate change response.
REDcycle - soft plastic recycling
We're proud to offer REDcycle recycling in all Coles supermarkets. Through the program, customers can recycle plastic bags and other soft plastic packaging using specially marked bins located at the front of our stores.
Since the program began in 2011, Coles has diverted more than 715 million pieces of flexible plastic from landfill across Australia.
Customers can recycle a range of soft plastic packaging including bread bags, cereal bags and frozen food bags.
Types of soft plastics that can be recycled via REDcycle are:
- Shopping bags including reusable 'green’ bags
- Fresh fruit and veggie bags and wrappers
- Bread bags
- Cereal box liners
- Biscuit wrappers and confectionery packaging
- Rice and pasta packets
- Frozen food bags
Single-use plastic carry bags
To encourage our customers to use reusable bags when they shop at Coles, we offer a range of reusable bags for purchase. These include the 15 cent Coles Better Bag, which is made from 80% recycled material and has been designed to be reused.
You can also buy bags designed by Australian schoolchildren to help raise funds for community organisations such as SecondBite, Little Athletics Australia, Clean Up Australia and Guide Dogs Australia.
Find out more about the winning designs and designers here.
For more information on Coles Better Bags, click here.
Climate change
Fires, floods and other extreme weather events all have the potential to affect our customers, our suppliers and our own operations. As we face the impacts of climate change, we need to be able to respond quickly so that we can continue to serve our customers around the country.
Whether it’s chartering a plane or a boat to get stock through floods, or working with emergency services and food rescue organisations to support communities devastated by bushfire, we have developed and will continue to develop business continuity plans. This includes working with our suppliers to build supply chain resilience through the $50M Coles Nurture Fund, which has supported a range of climate adaptation programs to mitigate against the impact of drought.
Reducing our own greenhouse emissions is a key part of our climate change response. We spend millions of dollars each year investing in initiatives such as improving the energy efficiency of refrigeration systems in our stores and distribution centres.
Renewable energy
In 2019, we were excited to announce a 10-year agreement to purchase more than 70% of the electricity generated by three new solar power plants in New South Wales. This was the first deal of its kind to be made by a major Australian retailer.
We're also installing solar power at many of our supermarkets. This helps reduce the store’s environmental footprint and keep energy costs down. Installing solar power is part of Coles’ commitment to increase the amount of energy we source from renewables.
Environmental stores
We're reducing the environmental footprint of our stores.
To help cut back on energy used in refrigeration, we have installed night blinds on open refrigeration cases, anti-condensation heater controls on our glass door freezers and cool room controllers.
We're also testing other technologies to improve the energy efficiency of refrigeration systems in existing stores. We are also working on climate control to better manage fresh air in store and reduce air-conditioning. Plus, we have installed LED lighting and automated lights to reduce our energy use outside of trading hours.
Click here to learn even more about sustainability across Coles Group.