Building on its long-standing commitment against food waste, with a partnership since 1995 with Food Banks and a record number of 10 million Too Good To Go baskets sold in its stores, Carrefour is the first retail brand to obtain the national 'anti-food waste' label for the Montesson hypermarket. This label is issued by Bureau Veritas, world leader in testing, inspection and certification, following a successful audit of the Montesson store and the Group's headquarters. It rewards the brand's long-standing commitments in its fight against food waste. Carrefour aims to increase the number of labelled stores to 20 by the end of the year, thus pursuing its objective of reducing food waste by 50% by 2025.
The fight against food waste is a historic commitment of Carrefour. It is both a citizen struggle - 17% of the food produced in the world is thrown away! - as well as an issue in the fight against global warming: if food waste were a country, it would be the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.
Carrefour has always been a pioneer in the fight against food waste: historic partnership since 1995 with Food Banks and with 1200 associations present throughout the territory, marketing of Too Good To Go baskets with a record of 10 million baskets sold in Carrefour stores, launch of the brand 'Nous Anti-Gaspi' aiming to value less beautiful products but sold 20% cheaper.
At a time when food inflation further reinforces our customers' concern for the fight against food waste, Carrefour goes further by being the first brand to have a store labeled 'anti-waste'.
This label was awarded to the Montesson hypermarket, the first store in France to obtain this national certification, after an audit carried out by Bureau Veritas, with the 3-star level (exemplary). It is issued for 3 years and promotes practices in:
sourcing and purchasing food from suppliers;
marketing of foodstuffs in stores;
management of unsold items and donations.
The score obtained by the store is linked in particular to the implementation of a mobile application exclusive to the brand, which facilitates the management and sorting on the shelves of products whose expiry date is near. This action has reduced the store's food waste by 8%, with a reduction target of up to 20%. In addition to this unprecedented solution, the brand has already undertaken a long-standing work on the subject:
the use of order prediction tools that decreased the unsold rate by 24% between 2021 and 2022 on the butcher department
anti-waste zones selling references sold between 30 and 50% cheaper (loose eggs, short-date products, etc.), thanks to which 4185 Too Good To Go baskets were saved the previous year
A rigorous donation and unsold management policy that allowed the store to distribute 96,000 meal equivalents in 2022
'The fight against food waste is at the heart of our commitment to the food transition and our Carrefour 2026 strategic plan. This is the very illustration that there is no contradiction between the fight against inflation and the food transition. It is our responsibility as distributors to innovate and engage our partners in this approach, to meet the expectations of our customers. With this label issued by Bureau Veritas, we are raising the level of our commitments to align them with best practices and we have the ambition to take our entire industry with us in this process.', said Alexandre Bompard, Chairman and CEO of the Carrefour Group.
'The subject of food waste is a major issue in our societies. At Bureau Veritas, we stand by those who want to demonstrate their commitments through transparent and credible actions. Carrefour's award of the label demonstrates the Group's desire to change the game in terms of consumption by meeting current societal expectations. As an expert and independent trusted third party, we are delighted to be able to assist public authorities and the food industry as a whole in implementing more virtuous practices. These advances perfectly reflect our mission: to build a World of Trust by ensuring responsible progress,' said Didier Michaud Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of Bureau Veritas.
The creation of this label is part of the AGEC law and was developed by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, ADEME and AFNOR Standardization. It comes after a phase of exchanges of more than two years involving public authorities, distributors and professionals in the catering trades around the project. The company Too Good To Go also supported Carrefour throughout the testing process of the audit grid, which took place in 2022, and which allowed it to strengthen its actions on many aspects.
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