Socioeconomic contribution
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
- Community investment
- Dedicate an amount equal to 1% of the average adjusted net earnings of the past three fiscal years to supporting communities
- Local purchasing
- Foster access to local fruits and vegetables in our food stores year-round
- Optimize our purchasing throughout the year
- Work with local producers to increase their production capacity
- Facilitate the identification of local products in our food stores
- Improve the variety of local products in our pharmacies
- Foster access to local fruits and vegetables in our food stores year-round
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.
Community investment
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
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.
Support for communities
Our philanthropic objective is to dedicate an amount equal to 1% of METRO’s average net earnings in the last three fiscal years.
2021 profile
Financial contributions
Corporation: $3.9M
Green Apple School Program (to encourage young people to develop healthy eating habits): close to $0.7M
Other sectors: $3.2M
Employees: $2.1M
In Québec, METRO took part in its 23rd annual campaign for Centraide.
In Ontario, the employee donation program supported United Way.
Customers and suppliers: $2.9M
Our customers and suppliers support local communities by contributing to events and in-store fundraising activities.
Food donations: $46.9M
This amount represents the value of the food donations made through our distribution centres and stores.
Vaccination: tangible support for the collective effort
In summer 2021, to support the actions of the health network and pharmacies, METRO joined forces with other Québec companies to open COVID-19 vaccination clinics for their employees, the members of their immediate families and the communities of Brossard, Montréal, Laval and Québec. The objective was to accelerate the pace of the vaccination campaign by adding resources and capacities to the collective immunization effort against COVID-19.
From June to October, an innovative partnership between three regional public health units in Montréal, Jean Coutu and Brunet helped get two Vaccivan vehicles on the roads to go out to meet citizens in parks and outdoor locations, to offer a first or second dose of the vaccine without an appointment.
Food security
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 2021, the program helped recover and redistribute more than 18 million kilograms of food: the equivalent of over 35 million meals. Our teams are proud to do their part to end food insecurity.
For more details, see our 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report (PDF)
© Moisson Mauricie / Centre-du-Québec
© Ottawa Care Centre
Local purchasing
Our local purchasing program was launched several years ago.
In this period of economic fragility caused by the pandemic, the keen interest in local purchasing is lasting.
Implemented in all regions across Ontario and Québec, METRO’s local purchasing program supports homegrown operations and contributes to business activities in several areas.
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.
Initiatives in Ontario
- Monthly advertising campaigns put our local suppliers front and centre.
- In our stores, we provide visibility for regional products.
- Since 2019, we have been a partner in Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, which celebrates Canada’s best local products. Our communication, marketing and public relations initiatives for the event earned a number of awards.
Initiatives in Québec
- We are investing in ongoing promotional efforts in stores, printed and online flyers and social media to provide greater visibility for local products.
- In-store signage help customers quickly identify local products.
- In 2021, local products were showcased in a major TV and digital advertising campaign.
For more details, see our Local Purchasing Policy (PDF) and our 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report (PDF)
Discover some of our local suppliers on our Committed to Local webpage