Countdown is marking Climate Week by announcing it is the first supermarket brand to join Gen Less, an initiative encouraging Kiwis from all walks of life to reduce their emissions.
Gen Less, which was launched over the weekend, encourages individuals, organisations, businesses and government to live and work in more climate friendly ways and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy use.
Countdown has joined Gen Less after recently announcing its ambitious new carbon emissions reduction target, which is to reduce emissions by 60 percent by 2030 versus 2015 levels.
General Manager Corporate Affairs, Safety and Sustainability, Kiri Hannifin, said joining Gen Less is just one of many ways Countdown is demonstrating its commitment to reducing its impact on the environment.
“There is no denying the impact that changes to our climate is having, and will continue to have, on the planet. At Countdown, we’ve got an unwavering focus on reducing our emissions and, since 2016, we’ve reduced them by 21 percent," said Hannifin.
“This has been achieved by creating less food waste, using less energy and by using more climate-friendly gases in our refrigeration. But our work doesn’t stop there. Our new carbon emissions target makes our intention clear - we want to significantly reduce our emissions even further to help protect Aotearoa for future generations."
“We were the first supermarket to phase-out single-use plastic carrier bags and packs of plastic straws, we were the first supermarket to roll out BYO containers nationally and we’re really proud to be the first supermarket brand to join Gen Less. We absolutely agree that by using less, we can have more. That’s why we are really proud to be a part of Gen Less and encourage anyone wanting to do their bit to join this exciting movement."
Countdown recently released its 2019 Sustainability Report, which details progress towards meeting its 20 Corporate Social Responsibility commitments. The report includes its carbon emissions tracking and can be read here: https://www.countdown.co.nz/sustainability
