Meijer Reducing Waste With Flashfood Sustainability Initiative
Meijer is looking to cut down on its food waste through its Flashfood sustainability program, an initiative that allows consumers to purchase goods nearing their sell-by date at a discount so the items don’t end up in a landfill.
To participate, consumers can purchase eligible goods through the Canada-based Flashfood’s mobile app, which includes items from meat, produce, seafood, deli, dairy, and bakery at up to 50% off. Consumers can select their local store, then pick up the food from a designated refrigerator or storage rack located at the front of Meijer stores.
The company launched Flashfood as a pilot program in November 2019 across several supercenters in Metro Detroit. Following its success, which reduced in-store food waste by 10%, Meijer expanded the program to all stores in 2021 — an estimated 225 supercenters currently offer Flashfood and consumers have purchased more than 1 million pounds of food.
"We're pleased to see that customers are taking advantage of the Flashfood program," said Todd Weer, senior vice president of stores for Meijer. "Making sure that good food doesn't go to waste at Meijer is the right thing to do for our communities and our customers."
Erik Petrovskis, director of environmental compliance and sustainability at Meijer, stated that minimizing food waste is a priority for the company, which is constantly looking for new ways to cut down on landfill use and the production of greenhouse gases.
The retailer also announced its goal to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2025, investing in renewable solar energy and holding its first-ever Sustainability Supplier Summit in June.
How Other Retailers Are Tackling Sustainability
Last year, The Body Shop committed to an ambitious goal: in five years, the majority of its stores, globally, would be fitted with refill stations. Part of the company’s initiative to implement sustainable business practices and reduce plastic use, the refill program has now expanded to stores across the U.S., and The Body Shop expects 49% of all U.S. locations to be fully equipped by the end of the year.
The retailer is now more than halfway toward its goal to reduce or avoid 1 billion metric tons (a gigaton) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from product supply chains by 2030. Walmart’s goal to reduce GHG emissions from product supply chains by 2030 was set through its Project Gigaton initiative, which launched in 2017. Over 4,500 of Walmart’s suppliers engaged since the launch, and suppliers reported a cumulative total of more than 574 million metric tons of emissions reduced or avoided.
Target and Amazon both revealed environmentally friendly store models this week and announced they are seeking certifications from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). The newest Amazon Fresh store (which brings the total to 26) is located in the greater Seattle area and is seeking the Institute’s net zero carbon certification. Target’s retrofit Vista, CA, store has applied for ILFI’s net zero energy certification.
