Carrefour planning to get stores,public on the same recycled page

       Carrefour will continue with its aim to promote energy conservation in its stores and to raise customer awareness on the action they can take to lower household consumption, said Paul Rowsome, environmental manager of the hypermarket chain.
       The group even went a step further in its commitment to reducing energy consumption from the previous target of 20% to 30% per square metre of sales area by 2020 compared to 2004.
       According to its sustainability report,Carrefour has specific plans to improve energy efficiency by reducing waste,water and paper consumption and optimising recycling activities. Carrefour branches have been told to report their energy consumption rates every quarter,said Mr Rowsome.
       Based on the results of a Life Cycle Analysis carried out on its shopping catalogues, Carrefour hypermarkets and supermarkets in France decided to reduce the weight of the paper in order to reduce the impact of their publications on the environment. By reducing the weight of its commercial publications,Carrefour saved 25,000 tonnes of paper last year alone compared to 2005.
       This is the equivalent of the annual release of carbon dioxide emissions by as many as 19,000 cars.
       Also, Carrefour hypermarkets and supermarkets in France saved 10% on their total paper consumption in 2008 compared to 2005.
       Carbon dioxide emissions were thus reduced by more than 22,500 tonnes,which is the equivalent of the annual emissions of more than 17,000 cars.
       Carrefour also favours the use of recycled fibres or those from sources with sustainable forest certification.
       Its aim is to have 80% of publications printed on certified or recycled paper by the end of this year and 100% by the end of next year. This year, the group is going to enforce stricter traceability requirements promoting paper made from recycled wood fibres or from forests under certified management.
       Carrefour is also making efforts to reduce the volume of store waste by replacing wooden boxes and crates used for the shipping of merchandise by reusable plastic containers.
       Carrefour has also been making effortsto optimise the weight of its own-brand product packaging. This has enabled the group to save on more than 13,000 tonnes of packaging for specific types of products throughout its entire range.
       After Taiwan, Belgium and France,Carrefour ended the distribution of free disposable plastic bags in hypermarkets in China and Poland last year.
       All stores now offer their customers alternative options to the disposable plastic check-out bags.