Campaigners for good, healthy, local
Everyone
has a part to play!
Consumers are increasingly conscious of what they eat, the protection of the environment and compliance with production standards. The world is changing and Auchan Retail is changing with it. Caring for our customers, our employees and the citizens of this planet is the first pillar of our “Auchan changes lives” vision.
We must be able to speak to each individual in order to change habits, bit by bit. We are committed to getting our entire ecosystem on board, farmers and manufacturers, nutritionists and top chefs through to the butchers, fishmongers and bakers in our stores, as well as our store department managers and till staff, our logistics and digital teams… not to mention the associations who are partnering us in a massive campaign for good, healthy, local products that takes a fresh look at all angles of our business and seeks to inspire confidence in what we eat.
350 responsible sourcing channels
throughout the world
We are committed to opening up 100 new responsible sourcing channels every year by teaming up with local farmers across the globe, even in countries in which such channels do not yet exist. This approach guarantees food safety, upholds human rights and protects the environment as part of relationships that are built on trust and constant improvement. It also helps to cut down on the use of pesticides everywhere in the world. With the Blockchain technology already developed in 8 of our countries, customers are able to trace the food they purchase from farm to fork.
Our agricultural sourcing channels must meet meticulous specifications that help farmers to optimise their methods and the quality of their crops and livestock and receive a fair price in return.
Our responsible sourcing chain is built on four pillars:
Clearly-identified
origin and traceability
An approach
that respects the people who produce the food we sell (employment, fairness, sustainability, local produce, etc.)
Environmentally-friendly
production methods (water, carbon emissions, processing, animal welfare, etc.)
A cost-effective
and sustainable approach for the people working in the sourcing channels and affordable prices for the consumer
Tasty, healthy products
sold in our stores
The best policy is to lead by example! We have spent 3 years reformulating our Auchan-branded foods. Our recipes now contain less fat and fewer additives and preservatives. These products were already guaranteed to be GMO-free and there are plans to stop using palm oil altogether. They are now healthier and still affordable for consumers.
To encourage our customers to eat healthy foods more often, we place seasonal produce on special display in our stores. We invite chefs to hold cooking demonstrations and have installed more tasting tables and delicatessen areas in our stores… Cookery workshops run by our in-store culinary artists from the baked goods, fish and meat departments have brought cooking and tasty meals into our stores and give everyone a chance to relearn how to prepare tasty meals.
CAMPAIGNERS FOR THE PLANET
Protecting
our climate
We endeavour to keep our environmental footprint to a minimum in order to play a part in tackling global warming. For example, for our cooling systems, we are gradually replacing the refrigerants that have the most harmful effects on the climate with more ecological solutions. We are also reworking our product line in order to prioritise locally-sourced products and shorten the distance between the place of production and our stores. In addition, in order to protect primary vegetation – the “lungs” of our planet – we are cutting down on the use of certain substances such as palm oil.
Changing production methods
and consumption habits
Preserving the natural resources that are vital to our activities is the only way to ensure that we can continue to use them in the future. That is why we take care to develop responsible production processes that cut down on the use of these resources. In order to reduce our use of these resources, we must first be careful not to waste them! This applies to the foods that we sell and the foods that are produced under Auchan brands. We are rethinking the way in which products are packaged in order to keep packaging to a minimum. We are using more recycled and/or recyclable raw materials. We keep the reparability of our products to the forefront of our minds and look for functional solutions in which goods and services are used in an optimal manner to meet the needs expressed by our customers. We encourage innovative thinking to help the Auchan Retail teams come up with “green” products and solutions that can create value. The production of waste in stores and logistics warehouses is inevitable. We are constantly enhancing sorting processes with a view to recovering this waste through special channels or, on site, through short supply chains that involve transport solutions with less of an impact on the environment.
Reducing
food waste
In an increasingly populous world, where urbanisation is reducing farmland, where food needs are steadily increasing, and where around one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost (source: FAO), we believe it is our responsibility as a retailer to help consumers reduce their household food waste, in the same way as we do in our own aisles and with our other stakeholders. We therefore want to take positive steps towards protecting natural resources, biodiversity and the climate. Likewise, we offer help to those experiencing food insecurity through partnerships with non-profit associations and food banks. And our employees exercise their creative skills to transform food products that are still good to eat and offer them in new forms. Everyone shares the same goal: to reduce food waste.
Pesticides
In 2020, Auchan Retail will stock a complete range of fruit and vegetables guaranteed to contain no traces of pesticides. To make this possible, farmers must plant diversified vegetation and preserve local wildlife. This revolution began with 8 varieties of citrus fruit sold in 4 countries: France, Poland, Romania and Spain. Vegetables will soon follow, with peppers, aubergines and cucumbers, bringing the total number of products offered to 50 in 2019. By 2020, the pioneering “pesticide-free” channel could represent a volume of 140,000 tonnes.
Cutting down on waste
Auchan Retail has been working for 10 years now to find solutions to food waste across the world: through food donations, which provide millions of meals, to the sale of unpackaged products to avoid throwing food away, as well as initiatives to raise awareness among employees and customers and the coproduction by Auchan Retail France of a MOOC for the general public to help anyone and everyone play their part in reducing waste. Auchan Retail is going even further in its efforts to recover waste: a bio-digester has been installed at the Haimen store in China to recover organic waste. Every day, 700kg of waste is converted into biogas, equating to 310 kWh of green energy!
A RESPONSIBLE ECONOMIC ACTOR
Our goal is not to succeed in this alone but to get all our customers, employees and partners on board in every country in which we operate to create a positive and conscientious dynamic.
A local
dynamic
When Auchan Retail opens up a store in a new country, a whole ecosystem is formed and flourishes. Our meticulous specifications encourage local farmers to optimise their methods and the quality of their produce in return for the guarantee of a fair price. We prefer to source our foods from SMEs/SMIs operating in the local agrifood sector and we innovate with them to enhance our product line in keeping with local tastes.
Cooperating
to succeed together
At Auchan Retail, we have always supported co-building initiatives, as we see this as a way to best serve our customers and promote loyalty among our employees and all our partners. We work hand in hand with other retailers to keep prices affordable, with farmers and the food processing industry to promote foods that are both tasty and healthy, with franchises to serve customers in all neighbourhoods and with our employees to invent methods of retailing that can change lives and share the best that Auchan Retail has to offer with the 8 billion inhabitants of our planet.
A leading
local employer
Senegalese employees in Senegal and Russian employees in Russia – Auchan Retail systematically boosts jobs in the countries, regions or cities in which we operate. In 2017, we hired 52,271 people across the globe. When we first enter a new country, we can hire as many as 2,000 people a year in the first few years, particularly young people.
A school
of excellence
Our employees are specialised in a broad spectrum of professions, from sales and marketing to team management, procurement, negotiation, logistics and digital services. Our training programmes reflect this diversity by enabling our employees to master modern retailing techniques, especially those that have emerged through our own expertise. This provides a springboard for every individual to carve out a rewarding and exciting career.
Ethical principles that allow employees
to work with confidence
Auchan has grown its business based on convictions and values that allow its teams to carry out their work with discernment, a sense of responsibility and professional awareness. Our ethical principles determine the reference framework that contributes to the dissemination and development of a company culture based on trust and integrity.
Auchan Retail provides all employees and partners with a whistleblowing mechanism so that they are able to report any behaviour that does not comply with the principles of its Ethical Charter.