Daily Dish the Sonoma Market blog
Extraordinary Sustainability: 2020 Wrap-Up
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2020 was not the year any of us thought it would be. While it can be painful to look back on the year and think about all the things we did not accomplish, let’s not forget the silver linings! Join us as we SEE the sustainability wins despite the tremendous upheaval we went through as a nation and a community.
2020 was not the year any of us thought it would be. While it can be painful to look back on the year and think about all the things we did not accomplish, let’s not forget the silver linings! Join us as we SEE the sustainability wins despite the tremendous upheaval we went through as a nation and a community.
Social Responsibility
Honoring our associates: Our associates are amazing. As our lives changed, it was our team who continued to show up, still willing to go the extra mile to serve our guests despite the chaos unfolding around them. Since the beginning of the pandemic to today, we continue to protect our associates by providing the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to safely do their jobs, and show our gratitude with bonus thank you pay in appreciation of all they do. We find these two aspects of conducting business nonnegotiable!
Environmental Stewardship
Waste: We were put to the test this year as we managed our conflicting goals of reducing waste while keeping our associates and guests safe. Though the introduction of single-use PPE was an inhibitor to us reaching our landfill reduction goal, we did manage to keep our waste from rising more than 1%. We are happy to report that several stores reduced their landfill tonnage by 20–50 tons of waste! Congratulations to our stores in Roseville, El Dorado Hills, Davis (Covell Blvd.) and Sonoma for this waste reduction!
Water: Due to a number of unforeseen leaks, our water consumption increased by 4%. Even so, we are happy to report that several stores reduced their water consumption, some by as much as 40%! Congratulations to our stores in El Dorado Hills, Davis (Covell Blvd.), Elk Grove and Tiburon for this water reduction!
Energy: PG&E’s rolling blackouts certainly gave us a scare this year, but we managed to stay committed to our energy reduction practices and can boast a 3% reduction in energy for 2020! We are happy to report that several stores reduced their energy consumption by as much as 5–13%! Congratulations to our stores in Roseville, Davis (Covell Blvd.), West Sacramento, El Dorado Hills, Woodland, Vacaville and Cameron Park for this energy reduction!
Economic Vitality
Food Recovery: Hunger is a real concern in our communities, now exacerbated by the pandemic. At the end of last year, we strove to strengthen our Food Recovery Program and ensure that all edible food that wasn’t sold was donated. We were averaging about 500,000 pounds in food donations previously, and are on track to donate more than 800,000 pounds of food in 2020, helping support the rising demand. Being a sustainable business means caring for all our community members, including the guests inside our stores and the ones struggling to meet their needs outside our four walls. Along with food donations, we gave monetary donations to many of our food agencies and food bank partners.
As we move into 2021, we’re doubling down on our commitment to taking care of our associates, guests and communities, and to taking care of our environment by reducing our waste, water and energy. Keep an eye out for the publication of our 2020 Sustainability Report which will highlight our waste, water and energy statistics in greater detail!
