Our ambition is to help reduce social inequalities, especially as they pertain to food and health. Building on our tradition of commitment since our founding in 1947, we count on the strength of our network of employees, merchants and pharmacist owners to contribute to the well-being of communities and generate sustainable benefits.
Objectives
For information on our key performance indicators, see our 2022-2026 Corporate Responsibility Plan (PDF)
At METRO, we are dedicated to contributing to the economic and social well-being of communities. Our priorities are to invest in the communities in which we are present and to promote local purchasing, both to support local suppliers and to meet our customers' expectations.
Our ambition is to help reduce social inequalities, especially as they pertain to food and health. Building on our tradition of commitment since our founding in 1947, we count on the strength of our network of employees, merchants and pharmacist owners to contribute to the well-being of communities and generate sustainable benefits.
To learn more
By creating value for all our stakeholders, we generate a positive and sustainable impact on our communities, whether through the jobs we create, our community investment, what we give back to our shareholders or the taxes that contribute to the financing of government programs and services.
Community investment
METRO is actively engaged in the communities in which it is present through financial assistance and food donations. In addition to METRO’s own contributions are those made by its employees, customers and suppliers.
Our philanthropic objective is to dedicate an amount equal to 1% of METRO’s average net earnings in the last three fiscal years.
Value of food distributed from our distribution centres and stores.
In 2022, METRO’s financial contribution to various causes totalled $5.5 million. In addition, we raised $6.8 million thanks to the contribution of our store and pharmacy networks, and through the commitment of our colleagues and the generosity of our customers. Finally, our colleagues contributed $1.6 million, mainly to Centraide/United Way.
Thanks to the tremendous generosity of our colleagues and customers and the ongoing efforts invested by METRO’s food and pharmacy banners, the 24th annual Centraide campaign raised a record sum of $2,426,429.
Our fundraising campaign, conducted with food and pharmacy banner customers, raised $1,580,000. METRO also contributed $100,000, enabling us to donate a total of more than $1,680,000 to the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal.
After a two-year hiatus, METRO’s employee volunteer campaign returned at a time when the need for help is significant. Colleagues enthusiastically answered the call to volunteer their efforts to eight different community-based charities.
Our One More Bite food recovery program enables us to provide our partners— Second Harvest and Feed Ontario in Ontario and Food Banks of Québec —with unsold quality products from our participating stores in both provinces.
The program is METRO’s flagship initiative in the fight against food waste.
From 2016 to 2022, the program helped recover and redistribute more than 23 million kilograms of food: the equivalent of nearly 45 million meals. Our teams are proud to do their part to end food insecurity.
For more details, see our 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report (PDF)
© Moisson Québec
Our local purchasing program was launched several years ago.
We work to build sustainable relationships with innovative local suppliers that stand out by their production methods and the originality of their products.
Our teams invest significant efforts to support local suppliers and provide our customers with the local products they seek.
In 2022, METRO partnered with Les Produits du Québec to facilitate the identification of local non-food goods. This certification will allow our Jean Coutu and Brunet pharmacy banners as well as our Metro and Super C stores in Québec to identify local products and work with suppliers to increase our local offer.
We collaborate with local producers to help them increase their production capacity for new and innovative products. In 2022, we worked with AquaVerti, Océan Vert, Vegpro and Vision Green as they developed indoor vertical salad farms, which bring a fresh local crop to customers all year round.
For more details, see our Local Purchasing Policy (PDF) and our 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report (PDF)