Last updated on May 9th, 2022 at 04:23 pm
Phoenix, Arizona-based Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. has published its 2021 “Environmental, Social and Governance Report,” highlighting the grocer’s ongoing progress in growing its business sustainably and responsibly.
“I’m very pleased with the meaningful achievements we made on our ESG initiatives in 2021,” said Jack Sinclair, CEO of Sprouts Farmers Market. “Our accomplishments reinforce the commitment of our 31,000 purpose-driven team members in caring for each other, our customers, communities, and the planet. We look forward to continuing our progress in the years ahead as we execute on our long-term growth strategy that is rooted in ESG.”
Highlights from the 2021 ESG Report include:
Environment
Climate
- Reduced carbon emissions per square foot by nearly 10 percent from 2019; and
- Averted 49,000 MTCO2e through food recovery programs.
Waste
- Achieved an overall landfill diversion rate of 60 percent by repurposing and recycling 79,000 tons of food and other recyclables;
- Recovered 78 percent of food waste generated and donated the equivalent of 26 million meals to help those struggling with hunger; and
- Recycled 500 tons of plastic film from customer and in-store use.
Sourcing
- Sold $2.7 billion of products with a social or environmental attribute; and
- Committed to improving chicken welfare by providing environmental enrichments by 2024, reduced stocking density by 2025, and more humane processing through controlled-atmosphere stunning by 2026.
Social
Team Member Development and Wellness
- Created 1,300 new jobs and promoted 22 percent of our team members of which 54 percent are female and 49 percent are racially/ethnically diverse;
- Delivered 585,000 hours of in-store training; and
- Reduced worker safety claims by 22 percent from the prior year.
Community
- Awarded $3 million to programs supporting youth nutrition education and food systems equity through the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation; and
- 70,000 children enrolled in Sprouts-funded nutrition education programs.
Governance
Corporate Governance
- Eighty-six percent of Sprouts’ board members are independent; and
- Twenty-nine percent of Sprouts’ board members are female and 14 percent are ethnically diverse.
Risk Management and Cybersecurity
- Formed a board-level risk committee to monitor enterprise risk management program and provide oversight of risks related to cybersecurity, critical systems, and environmental and social matters, among others; and
- Experienced no cybersecurity or data privacy events in 2021.
Sprouts has published a table summary that aligns with the Food Retailers and Distributors industry standards of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board on its investor relations page located at investors.sprouts.com.
Learn more about Sprouts’ ESG initiatives at sprouts.com/sustainability.
Sprouts recently announced its first Sustainability Vendor Summit. To read the full story presented by The Shelby Report, click here.
