STRATEGY
Product
People
Store manager
of the year
Planet
Given the importance of food in
everybody's life, food retail has
emerged as a central industry in the
conversation on sustainable devel
opment. Delhaize Group has been
participating in this conversation
and working on sustainability, for
merly known as Corporate Respon
sibility, for many years. In 2008 the
Group formalized its commitment
in business strategy and two years
later, in 2010, made it one of the
three pillars in the New Game Plan
comprising the key areas of Peo
ple, Products and Planet. In 2012,
in an exceptionally tough business
climate, Delhaize Group launched
new initiatives and already moved
towards the 2020 ambition, which
places a much stronger focus on
building sustainability into private
brands and puts more emphasis on
reducing waste across the Group.
Some 2012 steps on the path to sus-
tainability leadership.
From 2012 on Delhaize America
ensures that all seafood products
sold in its stores are harvested in a
sustainable manner. This means that
seafood is fished or farmed in a way
that will enable it to be around for
generations to come. Delhaize Amer
ica will only sell seafood from fisher
ies and farms that are managed by
competent authorities that use a sci
ence-based approach to their man
agement plans. Similar efforts were
made in Belgium where Delhaize
reached a significant milestone in its
partnership with the World Wide Fund
for Nature (WWF). Now, all fresh fish
sold at Delhaize supermarkets is har
vested in a sustainable way. All fro
zen fish will be sustainably sourced
by the end of 2013.
In 2012 Delhaize Belgium stepped
up its efforts to offer more local
KUIAIZEtttGlNIIlP
In 2012 Delhaize Group organized
for the first time the Store Manager
of the Year (SMYA) Award across the
entire Group. DG launched the SMYA
program as a way to recognize the key
role Store Managers play every day
at the heart of the multi-national food
retailing business. While the program
selects one overall winner, its intent is
to recognize and celebrate the impor
tant role that all Store Managers play
in growing a stronger business, associ
ates and communities every day.
products. These products are not
only excellent choices for the cus
tomers; they offer also a unique
opportunity to support local commu
nities. "I think customers like prod
ucts that they can link to the people
who make them. And for a small
company like ours it is important to
be supported so we can be present
at different places in our region",
explains a local producer of pan
cakes. Just like the other operating
companies within Delhaize Group,
Delhaize Belgium has always given
priority to local products and local
producers. 100% of the eggs, 95% of
milk, 85% of meat and 90% of the
fruit and vegetables sold in Belgian
Delhaize stores are Belgian. So with
broadening its assortment of local
products, Delhaize Belgium also
provides local farmers and produc
ers opportunities for growth.
Beginning in 2012, most of the
Delhaize Group banners launched
new programs to reduce store
waste. Delhaize Belgium, a longtime
partner of food banks, launched a
test program in three cities to pro
vide a daily selection of items to
local food organizations. Volunteers
from Saint-Vincent de Paul Society
arrived at the stores every afternoon
to pick up pre-assembled packages
of select dry foods, fresh foods that
reached their sell-by dates, and fro-
24
