On the 6th of October the United Nations announced that ICA Gruppen has received an award for its “Beyond Climate Neutrality” climate ambition. The award will be presented in connection with the UN COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November. ICA is being recognised for its work to achieve climate neutrality in its own operations and its ambition to at the same time drive change for reduced climate impact both upstream in the supply chain as well as downstream among consumers.
ICA Gruppen has been awarded the UN Climate Neutral Now Award in the category of Climate Neutral Now, which demonstrates the company’s commitment to climate neutrality and its efforts to reduce climate impact among suppliers and customers. The awards ceremony will take place in the framework of the UN Climate Change Conference “COP26”, which will take place in Glasgow in November.
ICA Gruppen, including Rimi, became a climate-neutral company in 2020, achieving a 76% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2006. The remaining emissions from own operations are offset through carbon credits. At the same time, the Group has set a target for net zero emissions from its own operations by 2030 and to cut the climate impact of customers’ grocery purchases in half by the same year.
“We are happy and proud of what we have achieved, because we have managed not only to reach, but even exceed, the goals set for 2020. The UN’s recognition is a great honor for all ICA Gruppen employees, especially now, as the company takes the next step and works to become a climate-positive company. However, the recognition also serves as a reminder not to stand still and to take the lead in reducing the climate impact of our own and other retail and food stakeholders. Food production makes for almost a third of the impact on the global climate, and we as the food retailer have a unique opportunity to make a positive difference by linking production and consumption daily,” says Zanda Šadre, Corporate Brand & Communications Director in Rimi Baltic, inviting also other market participants to act responsibly, proactively and promote emissions reductions.
The UN Global Climate Action Awards have a total of 11 nominees, four of whom are in the Climate Neutral Now category. The annual award programme recognizes the world’s most innovative, scalable and replicable examples of action to tackle climate change. In 2016, ICA Gruppen received the UN Award as one of the winners in the information and communication technology category for the Klimaträtt project, making ICA Gruppen the only Swedish company to receive the UN awards for the second time.
ICA Gruppen was the first grocery retailer in Sweden to have its climate targets approved by Science Based Targets in 2018 and the first to set targets for reducing the climate impact of customers’ grocery purchases. ICA Gruppen’s focus on driving reduced climate impact also outside of its own operations is not limited to the grocery retail business conducted by ICA Sweden and Rimi Baltic. Apotek Hjärtat has set a goal to cut the climate impact of its customers’ pharmacy products in half by 2030, and ICA Real Estate has a target to build with a net zero climate impact by the same year.
