Sobeys CSR Business Strategies Include Sustainable Fish Labelling

Sobeys builds on CSR business values with Trace This Fish Initiative

Sobeys is a national grocery retailer that has been serving Canadian communities since 1907 with more than 1,300 stores and a dedication to CSR business strategies. The Sobeys Inc. brands include IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Price Chopper, Thrifty Foods and Lawtons Drugs. Sobeys Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited, and employs over 97,000 Canadians. The goal of Sobeys commitment to its CSR business mandates is to improve environmental performance through reasonable, practical, environmentally responsible business practices that are in the long-term best interests of our customers, employees, suppliers and communities.

Sustainable and local are two major trends in food that is only becoming more popular. As people realize the benefits of living a greener lifestyle, one of their first changes is usually in their diets. Grocery stores like Sobeys and Whole Foods are becoming savvy to the needs and desires of their customers.

Images courtesy of sobeys.com

Sobeys have introduced a traceable fish, which essentially is a labelling system for the fish they sell. Every package of fish is marked with a number. Consumers can go home and log onto the thisfish website and find out about where that fish originated. Some of the information that the number gives is who caught the fish, when, where, and the name of their boat.

Some may ask what exactly a person gains from this information, but it all helps link people to their food. There has become a disconnect between farm (or water in this case) and table, where people are not always aware of where and how their food gets to them. By starting this labelling system people know that their fish came from Canada. They are able to feel contested to the source and in the end that helps make them more conscious consumers.

The program was launched by Ecotrust Canada “an enterprising nonprofit whose purpose is to build the conservation economy.” Sobeys participation in the program has led to the fish sold in their stores being labelled. Beyond that they have gotten Niagara’s Peller Estates Winery chef and CityLine contributor Jason Parsons to write some interesting recipes to help people learn how to cook their fish in delicious ways.

This kind of program even connects to the ideals of those who are taking part in the Meatless Monday movement. Just because a person may be giving up meat and fish one day a week doesn’t mean there aren’t things they can do the other six days of the week to help live a more sustainable lifestyle.  Not to mention reduce their carbon footprint. A program like Thisfish helps stress local. If people took the time to read labels they might aware that a lot of their seafood is harvested internationally.

Anything that makes better choices easier is a good thing. Having a connection to your food source and being more aware of that connection is the only way change and better CSR business practices from end-to-end will happen.

Portlandia – Is it Local? (we have featured this video before but it’s still funny and fitting)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2LBICPEK6w[/youtube]

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.