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Grocery Outlet focuses on offering value, reducing food waste in 1st ESG Report
The fast-growing West Coast discounter outlined seven key impact areas in the report, saying it saved its shoppers nearly $2.5 billion compared to conventional grocers in 2022.
Diane Adam
October 26, 2023
2 Min Read
Grocery Outlet released its first annual ESG Report, which covers fiscal year 2022. / Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
Grocery Outlet this week released its first annual Environmental, Social and Governance Report.
The fast-growing West Coast discount grocer said its inaugural ESG report, which covers fiscal 2022, demonstrates its mission of “Touching Lives for the Better” by focusing on the company’s positive impact on its communities, people and planet.
“At Grocery Outlet, our mission of touching lives for the better has been core to the business from the start, and fulfilling this purpose has resulted in positive environmental and social impacts throughout our 77-year history,” said RJ Sheedy, president, CEO and member of the board of directors of Grocery Outlet. “We are proud of the work we have done and we are excited to highlight our ESG strategy through our first report.”
The seven key impact areas highlighted in the report are:
Saving customers money: The report said "over the past 5 years, we have saved customers over $10 billion compared to conventional grocers, including $2.4 billion in 2022."
Providing affordable quality food: With food insecurity a major issue in the U.S., Grocery Outlet said in its report that in 2022, "over 30% of sales were attributable to produce and Natural, Organic, Specialty and Healthy (NOSH) options."
Giving back: Grocery Outlet is run by independent operators, and the report noted that since its debut in 2011, Grocery Outlet's Touching Lives Foundation (TLF) has donated over $1.7 million to more than 650 members of "the Grocery Outlet family who have experienced hardships such as illness, natural disasters and unexpected tragedy."
Providing opportunities to independent operators: In 2022, Grocery Outlet offered 50 new independent operators the opportunity to become entrepreneurs.
Providing opportunities for employees: Grocery Outlet reported it conducted its first employee engagement survey in 2022, with more than 90% participation across nearly 1,000 workers.
Reducing food waste: The retailer said in the coming years, it plans to develop metrics that "demonstrate the scale of our food waste diversion through opportunistic sourcing and operational efficiencies. This will also help us quantify the emissions we help avoid."
Improving operational efficiency: The report noted that more than 98% of stores have timed heating and lighting controls, designed to lower energy consumption when the markets are unoccupied.
Grocery Outlet, which will report its third quarter fiscal 2023 earnings on Nov. 7, operates more than 450 grocery stores in California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Nevada, Maryland and New Jersey.
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Grocery Outlet Inc.
