European retailer Carrefour has launched an unprecedented initiative that combines the fight against plastic packaging with boosting its customers’ purchasing power.

Building on its track record in plastic reduction – with 25,000 tons removed since the launch of Act For Food – Carrefour is making a new commitment to eliminate 5000 tons of plastic to lower its packaging costs. All of the savings generated by this plastic reduction will be reinvested into price cuts of up to nearly 10% on products.

“Carrefour was an early adopter in the fight against plastic pollution,” said Alexandre Bompard, Chairman and CEO of the Carrefour Group. “Today, we are taking this a step further with an unprecedented initiative in the retail sector: we have chosen to invest the savings generated by fighting plastic back into our customers’ purchasing power.”

Taking action

Carrefour announced five actions to remove over 5000 tons of plastic from the packaging of products sold in its stores:

• Eliminating plastic overpackaging on promotional multipacks by 2028 for Carrefour’s private-label products and by 2030 for national brands, equivalent to 500 tons of plastic. 
• A 30% reduction in plastic packaging for hygiene and household cleaning products by developing recycled plastic refill formats, with prices 10% to 20% cheaper ; solid-product ranges and large containers. These new packaging formats have the potential to reduce plastic by  2,000 tons. 
• Replacing plastic blister packs across the entire toilet paper range with 100% paper packaging by 2030, leading to a 1,500-ton reduction in plastic. 
• Expanding sales of deposit-return products with highly affordable pricing – averaging 5% cheaper per liter than their non-reusable equivalents – and a selection of over 1,000 products by 2030. With this initiative, Carrefour aims to sell 50 million reusable bottles, cutting another 500 tons of plastic.
• Implementing new packaging combining cardboard boxes and plastic windows for pastries and baked goods sold in the traditional bakery aisle, with an expected reduction of 500 tons of plastic. 

The packaging initiatives represent savings of over 5 million euros. They target aisles where plastic remains all too common and aim to spark a complete transformation by establishing new market standards.

As early as 2015, Carrefour pioneered a de-plastification approach in its stores, starting with fruits and vegetables, batteries, light bulbs, and textile products. All these actions have resulted in significant reductions in plastic packaging, and have helped create market standards, now adopted by most other distributors and national brand suppliers.