Lidl has become the latest UK retailer to join conservation group WWF’s Retailers’ Commitment for Nature.
The discount grocer has added its name to a list of retailers, which includes Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose, looking to halve the environmental impact of the average UK shopping basket by 2030.
Lidl’s move means that 60% of the UK food retail market is now aligned to the Retailers’ Commitment for Nature, with WWF urging all retailers to adopt its basket ambition target.
As part of the commitment, WWF works with supermarkets across the UK to address their environmental impacts in seven key areas: climate; deforestation and conversion of habitat; agricultural production; marine; diets; food waste; and packaging.
Ryan McDonnell, CEO at Lidl GB, claimed his retailer is demonstrating that “affordability and sustainability don’t have to be mutually exclusive” and called the Retailers’ Commitment for Nature “an important movement”.
“We firmly believe it is our responsibility, through innovation, investment, and active leadership, to build a better future – for our business, our agri suppliers, the people we interact with and our planet,” he argued.
Tanya Steele, CEO at WWF, remarked: “Our food system is placing an unbearable toll on the planet: it’s driving climate chaos and fuelling the destruction of nature in the UK and overseas, undermining our resilience and putting our future at risk.
“Tackling the food system’s excessive environmental impact, while continuing to produce healthy and affordable food, is a huge challenge. But driving change from farm to fork and across supply chains that span the globe is an essential step for our food security.”
Elsewhere at Lidl, it was announced this week that Maciej Tylkowski, currently chief operating officer (COO) at Lidl Poland, is joining Lidl GB’s board of directors and will become the retailer’s joint COO for the territory.
Meanwhile, Stephanie Rogers, currently director of employee lifecycle & experience will take over as chief human resources officer at Lidl GB in April, after Nan Gibson was promoted to a group-wide HR role.
Read more about WWF’s work with retailers in Green Retail World
[Image credit: Green Retail World]
