Carrefour is continuing with its long-standing commitment to tackling food waste: it has just become the first French retailer to be awarded the national “anti-food waste” label.

This is evidenced by its partnership with French food bank organisation Banques Alimentaires, dating back to 1995, and the record 10 million Too Good to Go baskets sold in its stores. Building on these commitments, Carrefour is now the first retailer to be granted France’s new “anti-food waste” label for its Montesson hypermarket. The label was granted by Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspection and certification, following a successful audit of both the Montesson store and the Group’s head office. This distinction recognises the company’s long commitment to reducing food waste. Carrefour aims to obtain the label for a total of 20 stores before the end of the year, in line with its goal of cutting its food waste in half by 2025.

Carrefour has long been committed to tackling food waste. The Group views it as both a civic engagement – 17% of food produced in the world is thrown away – as well as an issue related to the fight against global warming. If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally.

Carrefour has always been a forerunner in tackling food waste: It signed a historic partnership in 1995 with Banques Alimentaires, and it partners with 1200 associations throughout France. Carrefour also has a partnership with Too Good to Go, having sold a record 10 million baskets in Carrefour stores. Additionally, the “We are Anti-Waste” (Nous Anti-Gaspi) brand was launched, which promotes slightly blemished products at a 20% discount.

At a time when food inflation is making customers even more concerned about food waste, Carrefour is going even further by being the first retailer to have an “anti-waste” certified store.

This label has been awarded to the Montesson hypermarket, and it’s the first store in France to have been awarded this national certification following an audit conducted by Bureau Veritas which saw it being awarded a three-star rating (exemplary). Valid for a period of three years, it recognises best practices in the following areas:

• procurement and purchase of food merchandise from suppliers;
• marketing of food items in stores;
• managing unsold stock and donations.

In particular, the rating obtained by the store can be attributed to a mobile application exclusive to the retailer. It is designed to help manage and sort products on shelves which are nearing their expiry date. As a result, food waste in the store has been reduced by 8%, and the aim is to reduce it by as much as 20%. In addition to this innovative solution, Carrefour has already implemented other measures as part of its long fight to tackle food waste:

• the use of order forecast software, which reduced the percentage of unsold stock by 24% between 2021 and 2022 in the meat section.
• anti-waste areas where products are sold at a discount of 30 to 50% (loose eggs, products nearing they use-by dates, etc.), thanks to which 4185 Too Good to Go baskets were saved the previous year
• a rigorous policy for managing donations and unsold stock which enabled the store to give out the equivalent of 96,000 meals in 2022

“Tackling food waste is at the core of our commitment to the food transition and our Carrefour 2026 strategic plan. It is absolute proof that tackling inflation and facilitating the food transition are eminently compatible. It is our responsibility as a retailer to innovate and to get our partners involved in this initiative so as to meet our customers’ expectations. Thanks to this label issued by Bureau Veritas, we can raise the level of our commitments and align them with the very best practices. Our aim is to get the whole industry involved alongside us with this initiative”, said Alexandre Bompard, CEO of the Carrefour Group.

“Food waste is a major challenge in today’s society. At Bureau Veritas, we work alongside organisations wanting to demonstrate their commitments through transparent and credible initiatives. Carrefour being awarded this label is evidence of the Group’s desire to change our patterns of consumption by meeting society’s new expectations. As a trusted independent specialist third party, we are delighted to be able to help the public authorities and the agri-foods sector as a whole in establishing more virtuous practices. This progress perfectly illustrates our mission: Shaping a world of trust by ensuring responsible progress”, said Didier Michaud Daniel, CEO of Bureau Veritas.

The establishment of this label is in compliance with the AGEC law (on tackling waste for a circular economy). It was developed by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Regional Cohesion, the Ministry for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, the ADEME and the AFNOR standards organisation. Its introduction comes after more than two years of discussions involving the state authorities, retailers and food professionals involved in the project.

 Too Good to Go supported Carrefour throughout the audit testing process in 2022, enabling it to improve various aspects of its approach.