Meeting our customer’s needs is at the core of METRO’s business strategy. We aim to provide consumers with products and services that meet their expectations and we work toward a more responsible supply chain.
Our ambition is to implement responsible practices within our supply chain to offer our customers products that respect workers and the environment. This long-term task requires continuous issue monitoring, close collaboration with our suppliers and rigorous implementation programs.
Objectives
For information on our key performance indicators, see our 2022-2026 Corporate Responsibility Plan
Our ambition is to implement responsible practices within our supply chain to offer our customers products that respect workers and the environment. This long-term task requires continuous issue monitoring, close collaboration with our suppliers and rigorous implementation programs.
To learn more
Responsible procurement is a fundamental aspect of our business activities.
We also know how important it is to our customers. That is why we are taking important measures.
We want to work with suppliers that share our commitment to responsible practices and act on this commitment. To guide us, we have developed several programs and policies that are science-based, rigorous and in line with industry best practices; they are a core part of our ongoing business operations. Click here to view them.
In 2022, we conducted a pilot project surveying the working conditions of over 400 suppliers. After analyzing the answers, we concluded that we needed a more powerful tool to help us balance efficiency, rigour and resources so we could increase the number of suppliers we evaluate each year and assess their performance against all the principles of our Supplier Code of conduct for responsible procurement, including Respect for workers. In early 2023, we partnered with SupplyShift, a cloud-based platform supported by a team of ESG experts, to collect and analyse data from our suppliers. This approach will allow us to improve our reporting and better identify risks and opportunities across our supply chain.
To learn more about our local purchasing initiatives, visit the Communities page
In 2022, we offered cage-free eggs in 93% of our stores. Over 66% of whole eggs sold under our Life Smart private brand are organic and cage-free, including 100% of brown eggs.
The average conversion rate of our Canadian pork suppliers to gestation crate-free operations is 58%, which represents the majority of our purchases. We are closely monitoring this transition with the goal of reaching 100%.
In line with the higher welfare standards of the Better Chicken Commitment, 99.6% of the chicken we purchase from producers and slaughterhouses is sourced from farms that meet NFACC’s stocking density requirement, and 62% is rendered insensible through controlled atmosphere stunning.
METRO has been a proud member of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) since 2016 and as such, supports a commitment to the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the Canadian beef industry.
In 2022, the Metro Ontario banner has committed to purchasing three million pounds of beef from Canadian farms and ranches certified to CRSB standards by 2026.
Because beef production is a leading cause of deforestation worldwide, we want to avoid products from areas with a high risk of deforestation. In 2022, we documented the origin of 97% of the beef used in our private brands and perishable products, and found that none of it comes from areas of high risk.
Ocean health and the preservation of natural resources are vital. At METRO, we know that the fishing and aquaculture industries face challenges that concern the sustainability of fish and seafood stocks, the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as working conditions. This is why we have chosen to support good procurement practices in our fish and seafood department.
Our Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy (PDF) covers fresh, frozen and canned fish and seafood. It provides a framework for our sourcing practices and is based on five principles that foster responsible procurement:
Healthy species
Responsible operating methods
Product traceability
Respect for workers
Socioeconomic development
Product traceability is at the heart of our approach. In 2022, we obtained traceability of more than 98% of our purchases. To keep our customers well informed, we communicate this important information as often as possible, through labelling and the Freshness You Can Trace section of the Metro banner in Québec.
Learn more about our implementation program. Depending on the status of the stocks and operating methods used, METRO may place certain species under observation as part of its continuous improvement program or temporarily withdraw them until issues are resolved.
Private brand products with the responsibly sourced product label meet all the requirements set out in our Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy.
For more details on our achievements, see the 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report (PDF)
Our ambition is to support our customers in their daily actions to care for their health and well-being by offering products that meet their aspirations and nutritional needs and providing professional services to help them take concrete actions for their health. We intend to continue to play an active role in supporting public health through our network of neighborhood stores and pharmacies.
Objectives
Product offers
Professional services
For information on our key performance indicators, see our 2022-2026 Corporate Responsibility Plan
Our ambition is to support our customers in their daily actions to care for their health and well-being by offering products that meet their aspirations and nutritional needs and providing professional services to help them take concrete actions for their health. We intend to continue to play an active role in supporting public health through our network of neighborhood stores and pharmacies.
To learn more
For several years, METRO has been working to offer more products promoting healthy eating in its banners. In February 2020, we launched the Life Smart brand to have all our healthier products under the same umbrella. In 2022, we increased our offering of private brand products that foster healthy eating by 18%.
In January 2021, Metro launched in Québec and Ontario the My Health my Choices program, a tool that helps customers find products suited to their lifestyles, values and health needs.
It includes nearly 8,000 products classified by almost 35 attributes, such as organic, gluten-free, vegetarian and no sugar added.
Our network of over 640 pharmacies plays a crucial role in fulfilling our purpose of nourishing the health and well-being of our communities. As frontline health professionals, pharmacists offer accessible health services and advice, such as consultation and prescription s ervices, prescription extension, medication management and therapeutic follow-up. Through our multiple communication channels, we also offer science-based information and contribute strongly to raising awareness around critical public health issues, such as vaccination and smoking cessation.
For more details on our initiatives, see the 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report (PDF)
Our ambition is to optimize our packaging and printed materials by reducing their use, relying on optimal design, choosing environmentally responsible materials and facilitating their recovery and recycling. These practices aim to reduce the use of resources, limit product losses and diminish waste generation, while contributing to the fight against single-use plastic.
Objectives1
Note 1 : For more information, see our Packaging and Printed Materials Management Policy.
For information on our key performance indicators, see our 2022-2026 Corporate Responsibility Plan
Our ambition is to optimize our packaging and printed materials by reducing their use, relying on optimal design, choosing environmentally responsible materials and facilitating their recovery and recycling. These practices aim to reduce the use of resources use, limit product losses and diminish waste generation, while contributing to the fight against single-use plastic.
To learn more
Since the early 2010s, we have launched a range of initiatives to optimize our packaging and printed materials and reduce their environmental footprint.
With the launch of our Packaging and Printed Materials Management Policy (PDF) in 2019, we implemented measures to reduce the use of resources, limit product losses and generate less waste while contributing to the global movement to reduce single-use plastics.
Our Packaging and Printed Materials Management Policy is based on four principles:
Reduce at the source and avoid over-packaging
Encourage reuse
Reduce the mass or volume of packaging and printed materials
Use the right quantities of materials
Give preference to recycled materials
Use virgin materials from sustainable sources
Give preference to recyclable materials
Communicate instructions for recovery
In addition to applying the principles set out in the policy, METRO is committed to taking action on priority packaging and printed materials based on their environmental impacts and volumes.
As of September 2022, single-use plastic shopping bags are being phased out of METRO stores. This initiative will eliminate more than 330 million plastic bags from circulation annually.
To support our private brand suppliers, we offer a design guide and training module on sustainable packaging. In 2022, METRO made responsible packaging training mandatory every two years for all private brand food suppliers.
See the training module
and the eco-design guide (PDF)
Our efforts aim to reduce the amount of paper used in our flyers in our food and pharmacy banners, as well as temporary in-store promotional signage made of fibre. Once again, we have reached in 2022 our objective of reducing the weight of paper used in our flyers. This year, we have reduced it by more than almost 11% compared to 2021.
To maximize our impact, our packaging optimization efforts are focused on high-volume products, like our Irresistibles and Naturalia lines of frozen fruit. The non-recyclable plastic has been replaced in 2021 by recyclable packaging. Sorting instructions also appear on the packaging to inform consumers of the proper way to dispose of it.
For more details on our achievements, see the 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report (PDF)
