100% ECO Hygienic Paper available at the supermarkets of Albert Heijn and Coop (The Netherlands)

Since today the Dutch consumers are able to purchase 100% ECO Hygienic Paper. The first supermarkets in The Netherlands who offer this environmental-friendly product are Albert Heijn and Coop. The assortment these stores offer are toilet paper, kitchen rolls and tissues of the brand NORTH RIVER. The products are the most environmental friendly products of the market. By using the product the Dutch consumers help to improve the environment.

The production of these paper product is realized by recycled wood, there is no chlorine included, 80% less water is used and the production process is realized by 100% sustainable energy.
For more information on these products take a look at the website of Friends Hygiene or contact them by e-mail jan@friendshygiene.nl

Going green article on the sustainability issue in retailing

An increasing number of companies are focusing on the issue of sustainability, creating long-term programmes that are good for the earth – and the bottom line.

In the spring of 1970, a few conservationists and local activists gathered in San Francisco for the first Earth Day celebration. Fast forward 27 years and an informal get-together has been replaced by an influential new brand of corporate environmentalism that is being embraced as one of the key issues in business today.

Most companies prefer the term ‘sustainability’ over ‘environmentalism’, the latter conjuring up images of protest rather than proactive planning. And, instead of taking to the streets, manufacturers and retailers are taking to the boardroom, putting together detailed long-range programmes for supply chain sustainability – best practices that touch on sources of supply, energy efficiency, transportation and packaging. But this kind of global governance is not an easy task and the question is whether companies can make a long-term commitment to being green while maintaining the bottom line.

This text is part of the article "Going Green" of the magazine Food International of Elsevier and written by Mr. Len Lewis.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

New generation green supermarket Tengelmann Klimarkt

Tengelmann opened half a year ago their first Tengelmann Klimamarkt. This follows the objective that the supermarket chain Tengelmann gave itself. Before 2020 they want to reduce to the level of CO2-emissions with at least 20 per cent. Environmental and natural solutions to save the environment.

Their newest Klimamarkt can be seen as an example of an environmental-friendly store. This green supermarket uses 50% less energy than the traditional supermarket and they also succeeded to reduce the emission of CO2 to almost the level of 0.

What did they do and how did they do it? This green supermarket of the newest generation, warmth is being used to transform it into energy, the cooling and refrigeration departments have environmental-friendly furniture with all the doors closed. Furthermore there was a lighting plan created, were LED-lighting could promote the products, make them more sustainable and reduce the level of energy.

http://www.jdv-trc.blogspot.com

Belgian Supermarket Chain Colruyt obtaining energy in their supermarkets by introducing Sun Panels

The Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt is looking for ways to obtain a sustainable way of obtaining energy, this energy needs to support reducing the emission of CO2-gases. The price stunter will install as many sun panels as possible on the roofs of their supermarkets, where possible this will be the new way how the supermarkets obtain their energy.

Currently Colruyt already obtains 7 million kWh of electricity by wind mills, sun panels and warmth recuperation. The Belgian is with these action leading the Benelux revolution in green retailing. In neighbour country The Netherlands we do not yet see this many way to use sustainable energy in the supermarkets.

www.jdv-trc.blogspot.com

Mars further develops plan with new action to Sustainable Business

Mars comes up with a new action to sustainable business. The Green Order System has the objective to change the order behaviour to reduce the emission of CO2. The impact on the environment will be measured and communicated to the clients.

Mars now communicated that after 2020 they want to produce 100.000 tons cacao with the UTZ-Sustainability certificate. The UTZ-Sustainibility organization focuses in higher productivity on the same area, with the aim to reduce the loss of wood and to improve the income of the cacao farmers. Untill 2020 this will be adapted in different phases.

This manufactured chocolate will be used in the Mars products like Bounty, Twix and Mars. Next to the UTZ certification Mars also works with Rainforest Alliance. The method of UTZ is a structural approach to improve the productivity and reduce the level of poorness in the areas. Farmers learn how to improve their productivity, with improved methods. Furthermore they explain that farmers need to produce a wider assortment of products, to avoid depending to much on one product. Mars thinks this new production methods will increase the benefits between 30 and 50 per cent, mainly focusing on Ivory Coast (worlds biggest manufacturer of cocao for Mars).

UTZ Certified Good Inside is dedicated to creating an open and transparent marketplace for agricultural products. It offers coffee, tea and cocoa certification programs and manages traceability for RSPO certified palm oil, UTZ CERTIFIED vision is to achieve sustainable agricultural supply chains where farmers are professionals implementing good practices which lead to better businesses, where the food industry takes responsability by demanding and rewarding sustainably grown products, and where consumers buy products which meet their standard for social and environmental responsability.

American retail study shows that low Income Shoppers are More Willing to Pay a Premium for Sustainability

The company Miller Zell an Atlanta based retail specialist company researches several different of topics inside the world of retail. Today this retail company published their study on green retailing, which type of consumer purchases green products.

The traditional thougth is that consumers who are most interested in environmental-friendly products have a higher income and overall lifestyle commitment to eco-friendly living. In the research done by this retail design and strategy firm Miller Zell the result is that shoppers with a lower income are the ones purchasing green products.

In the study it states that Income is not the only important factor when consumers decide to do green shopping, consumers with lower income are willing to pay a premium for green products. Women are also willing to pay more than men for green products.

The interest of consumers in sustainable products did not result yet in good promotion and information on the green products manufacturers and retailers have. Wal-Mart last week launched the plan to obtain information on the effects on the environment of their products and communicate the effect of the purchase of this product on the environment.

The study also shows the channels that are most effective to trigger the interest of the shopper in green products as well as differences between the different generations and genders.
To download a copy of the study results, visit the Miller Zell blog, Inside the Aisle at http://insidetheaisle.com/mz-research-surveys/.

Does the outcome of this research come as a surprise for you? Which actions do you take to save the environment? Which advices would you like to share with the other readers of this blog?

Organic Food Program and Carbon Neutral Program of Dole

The banana producer, Dole, lets customers “travel to the origin of each organic product”. By typing in a fruit sticker's three-digit Farm Code on Dole Organic's website, customers can read background info, view photos of the farm and workers and learn more about the origin of Dole products (http://www.doleorganic.com/)

Dole produces organically-grown bananas in its own farms and sources from independent organic growers located in Honduras, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Peru for the European and North American Markets and recently in the Philippines for the Asian Market. 100% of Dole’s organic bananas are certified organic and follow the organic production standards as set by the law in the US, EU or Japan.

Furthermore Dole has a carbon neutral program:
'Carbon neutral,' as applied to the banana and pineapple product supply chains, means that the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted to produce, pack, transport and distribute the fruit will be offset by mitigation practices which increase the capture of CO2 in order to achieve a 'neutral' balance. These practices entail new, more efficient transportation methods, changes to agricultural processes to reduce CO2 emissions, and partnering with local farmers to implement preservation and reforestation programs. http://www.doleorganic.com