Waitrose to plant 35,000 trees in CSR program to offset grocery deliveries

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives take on many guises and roles but in my opinion so long as what your company is choosing to do can be demonstrated to be positive towards the environment, the workplace of the community for example then any idea is a good idea. The more research I do about CSR stories the more creativity I’m beginning to see which goes to show that CSR can actually be expanded in ways that might not at first be so obvious. Many companies rely on deliveries of goods or driving as a service as a large part of their business although it’s taken a company more associated with groceries to take a step that others may wish to consider. I’ve read about many companies looking to make their delivery fleets of vehicles more energy-efficient by changing the types of car, van or truck but this is the first time I’ve seen a company committed to planting the equivalent of a small forest of trees to help with carbon offsets.

Waitrose is a UK supermarket chain that has more than 225 locations around the country, the grocer originally began in 1904 and now controls just under five percent of the market in the country whilst hoping to expand to 400 locations by 2017. As with many other supermarkets in Europe a large percentage of businesses now migrating to online shopping with the supermarket then providing home delivery. Like many retailers especially in the grocery industry Waitrose are concerned that environmentalists will call the company out on being environmentally friendly due to the addition of new delivery vans as this type of shopping continues to grow in popularity. Waitrose have decided to roll out the online shopping platform in conjunction with a CSR initiative designed to counter any environmental damage.

The company has partnered with British conservation charity The Woodland Trust and announced plans to plant more than 35,000 native British trees during 2011 the company feels the environmental benefits of so many new trees will more than outweigh any impact from the expansion of their delivery services. The trees which include hazel, wild cherry and silver birch will be planted in different woodlands around the UK during the course of this year with plans to expand the program in 2012 and beyond. The addition of so many trees will help the atmosphere in storing carbon in addition to providing benefits for wildlife and reducing flood risks in the UK. Every sale the company confirms for delivery via Waitrose.com will help to foot the bill for the cost of planting the trees, while the company has promised that shoppers won’t pay anything for the program. The customer will learn more about the program via both the website and upon receipt included with delivery.Quentin Clark, head of sustainability and ethical sourcing at Waitrose stated:

“This unique partnership is the first of its kind and is a direct result of our environmental policies and the opportunities presented to us by the growth of Waitrose.com. We are delighted to be able to plant 35,000 trees this year and I am looking forward to this number growing every year, as our online business goes from strength to strength.”

Although the stories circulating about this news don’t mention it, I’m also fairly sure that the significant reduction of people driving to the grocery store will also provide a net benefit due to the delivery service growing as I’m certain each van will contain a number of different customer’s grocery orders. You can learn more about the company’s CSR programs via the Waitrose website.

To learn more about the work being done by The Woodland Trust please visit their official website.