Carrefour is a French multinational corporation which began in 1959, with the first supermarket opening in 1960 and the first hypermarket opening in 1963. According to the National Retail Federation, it is the 7th largest retailer in the world. The company’s “ambition is to be the leader of the food transition for all.” Carrefour’s Impaakt rating is -0.41, with the most pertinent Sustainable Development Goal being “Zero Hunger” and least impactful being “Climate Action.” So is Carrefour contributing to a sustainable future for all?
According to Carrefour’s sustainability report, they are striving towards 8 SDGS with various initiatives including:
SDG 2 - Zero Hunger = 50% reduction in food waste by 2025 vs 2016
SDG 3 - Good Health & Well-being = 6000 products in stores with a nutritional benefit since 2022
SDG 5 - Gender Equality = 35% of women in management by 2025
SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth = 100% of supply plants located in high-risk or at-risk countries must undergo a social audit
SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production = 4.8 billion euros in sales of organic products since 2022
SDG 13 - Climate Action = 30% reduction in GHG emissions (Scope 1 & 2) by 2030 and 55% by 2040 vs 2010
SDG 14 - Life Below Water = 20000 tonnes of packaging saved by 2025 including 15000 tonnes of plastic
SDG 15 - Life On Land = Deployment of a Sustainable Forestry action plan on products linked to deforestation by the end of 2025 e.g. palm oil, cocoa
Focusing on SDG 2, every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food end up uneaten, with food waste accounting for 3.3 gigatonnes of GHG emissions. Hence food waste is the 3rd biggest polluter in the world. For Carrefour, methods including discount management for products nearing sell-by-date and recovery of unsold produce, are ways in which the company can cut down on this issue. They are also working with Too Good to Go, a company where people can purchase leftover food for a discounted price to avoid disposal, hence bringing together various stakeholders in the fight against food waste. Overall, it’s evident that Carrefour is aiming to create a lasting impact as a major player in the consumer goods industry.
On the other hand, Carrefour could do more in combating the climate crisis, which contributes to arguably the most crucial SDG, “Climate Action.” According to Impaakt, the company generated over 1.2m tonnes of scope 1 & 2 emissions in 2022, coming from refrigerants, gas, heating oil, and electricity. An RFI article from February 2023 reported that Carrefour was charged with greenwashing by the NewClimate Institute and Carbon Market Watch, due to its climate plans having “very low integrity.” The European think tanks found that more than 80% of locations are “explicitly excluded” from Carrefour’s emissions reporting, making their carbon neutrality target entailing less than 1% of total emissions reduced. Hence this retail multinational needs to improve its transparency if it wants to obtain its ambitions and take responsibility for its role in the climate transition.
Lastly, it’s important to assess Carrefour’s impact in relation to its competitors. Walmart, a retail corporation based in the US, has recently launched sustainability initiatives such as transitioning to recyclable paper mailers for online orders and adopting regenerative agriculture in partnership with General Mills, Sam’s Club and PepsiCo. Lidl, a German retailer chain, is involved in similar initiatives, e.g. integrating ocean bound plastic from discarded water bottles into their branded bottles. Thus, Carrefour needs to take concrete action to show consumers it can be trusted in creating a positive impact on the planet and society.
Carrefour can be commended for its goals tackling 8 out of 17 SDGs, in particular the fight against hunger and food waste. But it has yet to fulfill its duty of reducing GHG emissions through transparency about its operations. The company is in a powerful position on a global scale, influencing over a billion customers in 30 countries. Although the breadth of its impact is great, the depth of its impact can be greater.
Author: Safeena Khan
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