Grocery’s man of the moment Richard Walker is set to join The Grocer next week as guest editor.
The MD of Iceland’s Food Warehouse business has taken the lead on Iceland’s bold new environmental plans, announced this week, in which it aims to become the world’s first major retailer to eliminate plastic packaging from all its own-label products within five years.
Since news of Iceland’s plans broke on Tuesday, the story has received huge national coverage, with Walker front and centre on TV and radio as well as print.
On Tuesday alone 55 TV programmes aired the announcement along with 230 radio shows. Including the front page of the Daily Mail, which broke the story, Iceland’s move featured in 62 pieces of national and regional press coverage.
Iceland said its decision would prove to “timid” competitors the potential for radically reducing plastic packaging. The pledge will see Iceland and The Food Warehouse replace plastic packaging on 1,400 own-label products with paper-based alternatives.
The retailer banned sales of plastic straws last year, and this week launched two new ready meal ranges packaged in paper and pulp trays. These will replace plastic trays across Iceland’s own-label range, while plastic bags used for frozen veg and other foods will be replaced by paper.
All trays and paper bags would be “fully recyclable” through waste collection or in-store facilities, Iceland said. Iceland said its commitment would help reduce the one million tonnes of plastic UK supermarkets generate each year. It also promised to provide regular updates when it achieved key milestones.
Walker said the onus was on retailers to deliver meaningful change. “This is a time for collaboration. The technologies and practicalities to create less environmentally harmful alternatives exist.”
● To ask Richard Walker a question contact ronan.hegarty@thegrocer.co.uk or tweet @thegrocer
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