GOOD BUSINESS
JOURNEY UPDATE:
April 2013
Good Business journey: Retail sector
What are the key issues for a diversified retailer operating
in South Africa?
• To highlight 6 key areas
• Sustainable farming
• Water
• Energy
• Waste
• Social development
• Transformation
• To increase focus on the life cycle of our products
• To deliver through product
• To increase communication to customers, staff and other
stakeholders
Increase focus on the lifecycle of our products: Food
Impacts on water, soil, biodiversity
Waste
Recycling
Water- why is it important to Woolworths?
• Increased cost of water and wastewater treatment
• Cost of quality (food safety)
• Cost of interrupted supply
• Pressure is on us to start taking responsibility
• Right thing to do
Woolworths and water
• Our commitment: 40% relative reduction by 2015
• Committed to:
– Reducing water usage and managing waste water
– Reducing water effluent in the supply chain
Woolworths and water
• Storage and use of recycled and grey water systems, retaining as
much water on site as possible for re-use.
• Rain water harvesting
• Use of indigenous shrubs and ground covers, minimising irrigation
needs.
• Water pulse metres
• Head office water treatment plant - 75 000 litres of municipal water a
day saving
Woolworths and water
• Work with suppliers to reduce water used and improve waste water
management during the growing, production and manufacture of our
products
• Entrench our strict code of conduct regarding dyes (including the removal of
Azodyes), chemicals and water management in our supply chain.
• Clothing audits and standards
• Completed a water trial with 66 food suppliers - highlighted issues with runoff water, with GIZ to further analyse water usage in agriculture and develop
methods for reduction.
Woolworths and water
• Water footprinting – understanding how much water is
used in producing key products
• Water balance programme with WWF
• CDP water disclosure project
Sustainable farming
• Context: As a food retailer, Agriculture uses over 70% of
water in SA and has massive impacts on SA’s unique
biodiversity
• Our commitment: Work with our suppliers and WWF to
improve farming practices in South Africa to ensure food
security and protect water and soil resources
• Farming for the Future
• Biodiversity - specific commitments on key issues
Farming for the Future
The
latest
audits
of
Woolworths
15
largest
fruit
and
vegetable
•
growers, show:
• an average 20% reduction in the use of synthetic fertilizers;
• an average increase of 34% in compost use per kg produce produced;
• a 3% increase in soil carbon;
• water use was reduced by 720.9 million m3 over the past three years which represents a 16% drop in water usage
• an 18% reduction in fossil fuel use;
• sustainable pest management techniques, such as integrated pest
management, has resulted in a substantial initial decrease – in the region
of 50% – in the usage of pesticides and herbicides, as well as an increase
in biodiversity.
MILK LCA
Life Cycle Assessment