New Aldi Charter Boosts Retailer’s Commitment to Sustainability

Aldi announced March 10 a new sustainability charter to bolster its commitment to protecting the planet’s resources and ecosystems through a series of initiatives that will be achieved between now and 2030.

The discount retailer, which has never offered single-use plastic bags at checkout and only sells reusable plastic and cloth bags, said the charter’s objectives include:

“Aldi has a responsibility to protect the environment, and we know it’s an important priority for our customers,” said Jason Hart, CEO of Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi U.S., in a release. “We are committed to evaluating and implementing sustainable business practices while always offering the highest quality products at prices that can't be beat."

Plan for Realizing Its Goals

Aldi, which has solar panels at 111 stores and 12 distribution centers nationwide, said it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a continued transition to solar and wind energy sourcing and build out its renewable infrastructure to rely less on grey power grids. It will add solar to warehouses in Alabama and Kansas, as well as about 60 stores by the end of 2022.

The Environmental Protection Agency last year recognized Aldi as a green power leader. The discounter currently purchases enough renewable energy annually to power its more than 2,000 stores, 25 warehouses and offices, said Aldi, which sources this power through Green-e and receives renewable energy certificates to validate its clean energy investment. 

Aldi will also continue to shift to natural refrigerants in all stores. Currently, its U.S. warehouses and nearly 400 stores use natural refrigerants, which are said to reduce the environmental impact by up to 4,000 times compared to common refrigerants.

Plans for diverting operational waste and reducing food waste are in development, the discounter said, but are expected to include composting, nonfood donation programs and expanded recycling and food recovery initiatives. Aldi already has recycling efforts in place for food, plastic film, corrugated cardboard, paper, metals and other materials. In 2020, it recycled nearly 300,000 tons of material. In the same year, to combat both food waste and food insecurity, Aldi donated more than 29 million pounds of product that would have otherwise gone to landfills to local food banks through its longstanding partnership with Feeding America.

Efforts to reduce packaging materials will start this year. By the end of 2021, Styrofoam will be removed from all produce packaging. Aldi will also continue to make progress toward a series of packaging commitments made in 2019 to reduce packaging and to make 100% of Aldi-exclusive packaging—including plastic packaging—reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

To date, Aldi—which in September 2020 joined the U.S. Plastics Pact, an initiative aimed at creating a path toward a circular economy for plastics in the U.S. by 2025—has redesigned packaging to remove or reduce excess plastic from products such as teas and bread. In select stores, it is also introducing alternative packaging for perishables such as blueberries and tomatoes, which uses 20% less plastic than traditional containers, and for mixed bell peppers, which uses 44% less plastic, it said. Additionally, Aldi is labeling products to promote recycling at home, using cardboard sleeves for more than 90% of apparel items, and trialing recyclable and compostable paper bags for apples in some stores.

Aldi, which estimates it has kept more than 15 billion bags out of landfills and oceans by only selling reusable plastic and cloth bags, is also testing a new initiative to remove all multiuse plastic bags from six stores in Richmond, Va.

“The global impact of plastics can’t be ignored,” said Hart. “We can’t get rid of plastic everywhere overnight, but we continue to work to eliminate plastics anywhere we can. Where we do need plastic, we are committed to choosing materials that contribute to a circular plastic economy.”

Aldi’s efforts will also include expanding sustainable sourcing of coffee, while continuing to source cocoa and seafood sustainably. Together with its business partners, it will promote human rights, increase supply chain transparency and ensure products are designed and produced in an environmentally friendly way. More than 40 coffee products are currently certified as sustainable. In addition, all Barissimo and Simply Nature coffees will be certified as sustainably sourced by the end of 2022. 

All Aldi exclusive-brand chocolate bars and chocolate confectionary are certified as sustainably sourced by Fairtrade, Fair Trade USA or Rainforest Alliance, and all Aldi-exclusive brand fresh, frozen and canned seafood is sourced from responsible fisheries and farms, and 100 seafood products are certified as sustainably sourced by a third party. Aldi has taken a further step in its commitment to seafood sustainability by making the origin of its brand of wild-caught seafood transparent and available to the public through the Ocean Disclosure Project.