Business ecology: Progress through binding targets

”We care for the environment and will be pioneering in this field,” promised Migros in its 2003 Environmental and Social Policy.

In concrete terms this meant committing itself to using progressive production methods and to reducing its raw material and energy consumption per franc of sales.

And there is no shortage of results, thanks to its comprehensive environmental management. Individual operations such as Chocolat Frey, Limmatdruck and Migros Cooperative Lucerne are also ISO 14001-certified.

A total of nine employees in FMC concentrate solely on identifying how and where the company can save even more water and energy, reduce waste and benefit the atmosphere. Numerous environmental officers in the regional Cooperatives and operations support them in their work.

In all important areas of environmental protection Migros has binding targets – for example in relation to energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, water consumption, the use of refrigerants, and waste. Each year Migros carries out an environmental audit to ensure that operational units are on track, and if not, it implements corrections. This audit is constantly being expanded and optimised. In 2009, for example, Migros introduced a central environmental information system into its SAP data administration system.

Packaging under scrutiny

Over the last two years Migros has been taking a hard look at its packaging. In 2009 it adopted a packaging policy which attaches more value to sustainability.

Looked at over the whole product lifecycle, packaging is only a small part of the environmental impact of a product. Even so, many consumers today are ecologically aware and feel unhappy about voluminous packaging, especially with sustainable branded goods.

Migros has therefore drawn up a packaging policy that took effect in summer 2009. The aim is to have comprehensive rules on how packaging is used, and where possible to reduce packaging material or replace it with something more eco-friendly. Because packaging has to perform a wide range of functions – protection, handling, transport and marketing in particular – it is not always possible to choose the most environmentally-friendly variant in every single case.

While drawing up the policy, Migros established a working group that has been producing guidelines on sustainable packaging for two years. In 2009, Migros environmental specialists looked at compost bags, plates, yoghurt pots and yoghurt lids. When comparing PET yoghurt pots with glass, the environmental audit came to the surprising conclusion that disposable glass was better than disposable PET. This was because of the high recycling rates for glass and the fact that recycled glass is used directly to produce new pots.

With the plates used in Migros restaurants it was found that traditional china is much more environmentally-friendly than a disposable plate from renewable materials, even though it has to be washed.

The comprehensive Migros environmental audits are based on the Ecoinvent database and cover the entire packaging chain – including extracting the raw materials, the manufacturing and transport processes, disposal and recycling.

Migros is constantly implementing the findings of packaging analysis. These are often scarcely noticeable but have a surprisingly positive effect on the environment. An example would be changing organic yoghurt from new pots to recycled ones, or using an alternative pack for roulades. Last year Delica switched from jute sacks to large containers to deliver coffee beans, which simultaneously helps the environment, is good for staff health and saves costs.