CONSUMER
Coles has a new mission statement based on sustainability in all parts of its business.
Change of direction for Coles Coles is looking for a change of direction as it looks to tweak the public’s perception of the supermarket giant. Food & Beverage Industry News explains.
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s one of the three big players in the supermarket space, Coles is always under the microscope – usually via headline-grabbing mainstream news, such as the furore surrounding its and Woolworths getting rid of singleuse plastic bags, or criticism over its Little Shop plastic toys not being environmentally friendly. It is something that the company is aware of and knows it needs to improve on. James Whittaker’s role as the company’s head of responsible sourcing and quality has many facets – ones that are
increasing, shifting and malleable at the same time. Over the past decade, Coles has put a lot of effort into not only being seen to be doing the right thing, but actually doing it. He cites the company’s policies on cage-free eggs and RSPCAcertified chickens. Then there is its decision to stop using the aforementioned single-use plastic bags, as well as its more recent foray into utilising solar panels on its buildings, and implementing the more environmentally friendly LED lighting in many of its stores. Addressing a packed room at
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the Australian Food and Grocery Council’s Sustainability Seminar at the Novotel in Sydney’s Olympic Park quadrant, Whittaker laid bare what the company is planning to do over the next few years. Not only in terms of sustainability but how it can change the public’s perception of what its whole corporate philosophy entails. He first asked a question of the audience. “What does sustainability actually mean?” There were no takers, so he gave his interpretation. “Sustain means to keep doing something for a period of time,”
he said. “For example, I could run for an hour, maybe two. But I couldn’t do it for 24 hours.” He then put his definition in context when it came to Coles’ business and how it approaches sustainability. “We could continue to put petrochemicals [in the form of single-use plastic bags] in landfill,” he said. “We can do that for a period of time, but eventually the raw material is going to dry up and the landfill is going to become full and we won’t be able to do it anymore.” Whittaker and his team knows
