The supermarket was commended for its partnership with Food Cloud and Plastic and Packaging Pledges
Aldi Ireland had two major wins at the Chamber’s Ireland Sustainable Impact Awards.
The supermarket giant received the Environment Award for its ambitious Plastic and Packaging Pledge. It also took home the Partnership with Charity Award for its work with surplus food redistribution charity Food Cloud.
The Chambers Ireland Sustainable Business Impact Awards showcase best practice in sustainable development and social responsibility undertaken by companies of all sizes across Ireland. The UN Sustainable Development Goals are at the heart of these Awards, celebrating sustainable business practices and championing Chambers Ireland’s alignment with the Goals.
Ambitious but achievable – targeting plastic removal
Aldi’s Plastic and Packaging Pledges have seen the removal of over 2,150 tonnes of virgin plastic, 2,800 tonnes of packaging, the transition of 930 tonnes of non-recyclable packaging to recyclable packaging and the removal of difficult to recycle plastics from Aldi’s 148 stores.
Between 2018 and 2020, Aldi set a series of ambitious plastic and packaging removal and reduction targets including:
- 100% of its own-label packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2022 (and branded products by 2025).
- Reduce plastic packaging by 50% by 2025.
- Reduce all packaging by 50% by 2025.
- 50% of its plastic packaging to be made of recycled content by 2025.
- Eliminate problematic plastic packaging from core food ranges by 2020.
- 100% pulp-based packaging across Core range must be FSC or PEFC certified or made of minimum 70% recycled content by 2020.
The programme has also seen Aldi become the first Irish supermarket to:
- Fully remove over 4 million single-use plastic straws from its own-brand products, replacing them with recyclable paper straws.
- Introduce home compostable trays to its Specially Selected steak range.
- Introduce 100% recyclable paper packaging across its own-brand White Family Pan and 100% Wholemeal Sliced Pan.
- Introduce 100% recycled PET water bottles across its own-brand water ranges.
- Fully remove all black plastic from core food ranges.
Celebrating the award win, Aldi Ireland’s Group Managing Director, Niall O’Connor said: “As a business we have prioritised removing or reducing plastic and packaging across our entire operations. We are working with our suppliers to develop viable alternatives to achieve our ambitious targets. Together we have made significant progress with more to do, and we are delighted to receive this award for our efforts.”
Forerunners in food redistribution – sending surplus where it’s needed.
Aldi was also recognised for its work in combating food wastage and food poverty through its long-term partnership with FoodCloud.
Aldi has partnered with FoodCloud since 2014 to redistribute surplus food from its stores to charity partners. To date, Aldi’s stores have donated more than 2.25 million meals to over 300 charities saving the charity sector over
€2.8 million.
In 2020, Aldi became the first supermarket to make a non-surplus food donation to FoodCloud, in an effort to help alleviate the huge pent-up demand for FoodCloud’s services as a result of Covid-19.
Aldi Ireland’s Group Managing Director, Niall O’Connor said: “Aldi partners with FoodCloud nationally and the partnership is rooted in collaboration, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic when FoodCloud’s services faced heightened demand. We look forward to continuing to work with FoodCloud to combat food poverty in Ireland and are delighted to receive this award in recognition of our contribution to date.”
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