A Self-Assessment Tool to Accompany Our Suppliers in Their Sustainable Development Approach
Within the framework of its sustainable development approach and its commitment to the respect for the Global Compact Principles regarding the environment (Principles 7, 8, and 9), Carrefour has created a sustainable development self-assessment tool to encourage its suppliers to implement a sustainability approach. Adapted to SMEs, this tool covers all the areas of a company at the social and environmental levels.
Launched in 2006 among 90 suppliers, this initiative was deployed in 2009 to all suppliers of Carrefour’s own brand food products in France. This global tool enables the suppliers to self-assess in four areas: company management and policy; environmental responsibility; social responsibility; and economic performance.
The sustainability self-assessment tool has been designed with the support of ADEME (French energy-control agency) and the WWF, with whom Carrefour has had a partnership since 1998. It includes:
- an online assessment questionnaire made of 49 criteria regarding environmental, social, and economic aspects;
- proposal of indicators to monitor the approach;
- a direct access to results;
- the opportunity to benchmark on each criteria on a year-to-year basis, and on the average of the industry;
- best practices.
The self-assessment tool achieves three missions:
- It enables Carrefour to get more involved with its suppliers, particularly regarding product manufacturing.
- It raises awareness of companies working with Carrefour on sustainable development challenges.
- It enables suppliers to have a better understanding of the levers with which they can take action, to be accompanied and supported in the implementation of a sustainability policy, and to contribute to the sustainability of their businesses.
In order to support them, Carrefour also conducts advisory visits on suppliers’ sites. These visits are aimed at accompanying companies, identifying the average gap between the self-assessed information and the reality, identifying action plans to implement, and monitoring progresses achieved.
In January 2009, 112 suppliers of their own brand food products participated in an event organized at the head office of the WWF France to share information and best practices on the environment and the sustainability self-assessment tool. Following the very positive feedback in France, the Carrefour CEO decided to deploy the tool to all Carrefour brand suppliers worldwide. For the first time, in November 2009, Carrefour awarded the brand product suppliers who are the most committed to the implementation of a sustainability approach. These awards are aimed at encouraging and promoting the approaches of these suppliers. The winners of the 2009 Sustainability Award were chosen based on the results obtained from the self-assessment tool and validated by advisory visits. Following the jury deliberation of members of Carrefour management, and external experts from WWF and ADEME, five suppliers were awarded for the following: Respect for the Planet, Respect for Climate, Respect for Earth, and Respect for People. A special prize was awarded to a non-food supplier of Carrefour’s own brand products for the supplier’s progressive approach. Other countries have also implemented actions aimed at encouraging and promoting sustainability approaches of their suppliers. In Colombia, for example, Carrefour organized the 3rd Allied Prize.
More than 15 years of commitment to biodiversity
- Fourteen years of voluntary approaches to GMOs: Since 1996, Carrefour has offered to all its customers products that are not GMO labeled (GMO – genetically modified organism), giving them the opportunity to buy products according to their conviction. For some of its Carrefour Quality Line products, Carrefour goes even further by excluding GMOs from the source animal feed. Outside the European Union, Carrefour applies a progressive approach regarding its non-GMO policy, taking into account the local context linked to national laws, economic contexts, and the different sensibilities of consumers.
- First French retailer to develop a responsible fishing offer: Back in 1995, Carrefour developed a fishing offer with its Quality product line whereby fish was farmed according to environmentally-friendly practices and not labeled GMO. Ten years later, Carrefour was the first retailer to develop and offer a “responsible fishing” frozen fish product range to consumers, which has since become the Carrefour AGIR Eco Planète range. With 26 references, Carrefour is the retailer that proposes the widest offering of MSC-certified (Marine Stewardship Council) products in France. Following scientists’ alerts in 2006, a halt in the marketing of the Mediterranean bluefin tuna was ordered in all European stores of the Group and halted completely in 2008. Since 2007, Carrefour has also been working with the WWF to identify the best sources of supply.
- Twelve years of commitment to forest protection: Engaged since 1997 in an approach to control the sourcing of wood supplies, Carrefour has been working with the WWF since 1998 to privilege FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood. Thus the Group Purchasing Office assortment of outdoor furniture consists exclusively of FSC-certified products and Acacia, a species that is not included on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources list of endangered species and for which Carrefour’s suppliers have engaged in a process of FSC certification with the Vietnam Forest and Trade Network. For its commercial publications, and beyond its policy for the use of paper with reduced weight, Carrefour is committed to reaching the target of having 100 percent of the paper for catalogs and consumer magazines ordered by the Group to be made from recycled wood fibers and/or of paper from forests under certified responsible management by 2010.
- First French retailer committed to the responsible use of palm oil in 100 percent of its own brand products by 2015: Within the framework of its participation in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2006, Carrefour is committed to promoting a production process of palm oil that respects environmental protection criteria and small producers. In 2009, Carrefour was still the only French retailer that was a member of this initiative. After an awareness-raising campaign among its own brand suppliers and an inventory of the presence of palm oil in its own brand products in 2007, Carrefour proceeded in 2008 to substitute the palm oil included in its own brand chips marketed in France (representing the withdrawal of a third of the total volume of the palm oil used). In 2009, the first amounts of responsible certified palm oil through the RSPO system became available on the market. Thus Carrefour has committed to using only certified oil in all of its own brand products by 2015. Henceforth, Carrefour’s position toward the suppliers of its own brand products is to request that they substitute the palm oil when it is technically possible and when it represents a nutritional interest.
This project description was originally presented in the Global Compact International Yearbook 2010.
Hélène Jessua worked as a CSR Manager for Carrefour.
About the Carrefour Group
Over the past 40 years, the Carrefour group has grown to become one of the world’s leading distribution groups. The world’s second-largest retailer and the largest in Europe, the group currently operates four main grocery store formats: hypermarkets, supermarkets, cash&carry and convenience stores. The Carrefour group currently has over 9,500 stores, either company-operated or franchises.
A pioneering entrant in countries such as Brazil (1975) and China (1995), the group currently operates in three major markets: Europe, Latin America and Asia. With a presence in 32 countries, over 57% of group turnover derives from outside France. The group sees strong potential for further international growth in the future, particularly in such large national markets as China, Brazil, Indonesia, Poland and Turkey.
Wherever it has a presence, Carrefour is actively
committed to promoting local economic development. Since retail
activities are all about contact with people, the group consistently
emphasizes local recruitment plus management and staff training on the
job wherever they work.
Typically, the Carrefour group will be one
of the leading private employers in any country where it operates.
Naturally, this is the case for France, where the group was originally
founded, but it is also true of such countries as Brazil, Argentina,
Colombia, Italy and Greece. The group also seeks to support local
suppliers, with some 90-95% of the products on its shelves sourced
locally, depending on the country.
Carrefour Stores
The world’s second-largest retailer and the largest in Europe, the group currently operates four grocery store formats: hypermarkets, supermarkets, cash&carry and convenience stores. The Carrefour group currently has over 9,500 stores, either company-operated or franchises.
- Hypermarkets, the retail business of today
- Carrefour market, the ideal supermarket
- Convenience: always attuned to customer needs
- Cash & carry: proximity and accessibility for catering professionals
- E-commerce
(Source: Carrefour Group)