ICA Gruppen, the parent company of the retailer Rimi, has been recognized as the most climate-friendly retail company in Europe in the ranking of climate leaders by the international newspaper Financial Times. In total, the Financial Times’ climate leader list includes 300 companies of various industries that have achieved the highest results in reducing emissions.
Between 2014 and 2019, the company ICA Gruppen has reduced its operating emissions by more than 30% and its greenhouse gas emissions by 77.5%. Rimi’s CO2 emissions in the Baltics have fallen by 81% since 2006, and Rimi has set a goal to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
“Food production, consumer purchases and supplier behaviour have a major impact on the carbon footprint of the retail chain. We are constantly looking for solutions to offer a more sustainable shopping experience and to educate all the stakeholders. It is important for us to not only set and implement science-based goals as a company, but also to encourage our major suppliers to follow a similar path, thus jointly achieving visible and significant results in the field of sustainability,” says Zanda Šadre, Rimi’s Head of Corporate Communications in the Baltics.
The most important energy-saving components at Rimi stores and warehouses are LED lighting and environmentally friendly refrigerators with cooling agent CO2, as well as the use of renewable energy and precisely planned logistics.
The climate goals of Rimi’s parent company ICA Gruppen are:
- achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 at the latest,
- reduce CO2 emissions from customers’ food baskets by 50% by 2030,
- ensure that largest suppliers have adopted science-based targets by 2025,
- ensure plastic packaging of Private Label products are recyclable or reusable by the end of 2025 and use only recycled or reused plastic packages by the end of 2030.
