Lidl makes 'significant steps' on plastic and food waste reduction

In its Good Food Report, published today, the grocer said it has reduced its plastic footprint per sale by 8% and its food waste per store since 2017 by 15%.

The retailer also said in the same period it has cut its carbon emissions by 16% and published its human rights and responsible recruitment policies.

Chief executive Christian Härtnagel said the business had “taken some significant steps over the past couple of years” in these areas, “from increasing our fruit and veg range by a fifth and reducing the amount of plastic packaging by 8% since 2017”.

The report set out Lidl’s goals on food waste out to 2030 and on plastic packaging out to 2025.

Lidl said it would aim for a 50% in food waste by 2030 and an increase in the recycled content of own-brand packaging to a minimum 50% by 2025.

Economic uncertainty and eco-anxiety

The supermarket also outlined emerging trends in the UK food market this year.

It highlighted economic uncertainty, emerging technology and the use of big data in terms of industry trends, and eco-anxiety, diet diversity and health consciousness being the biggest emerging trends among consumers.

Lidl noted that “the world’s food-producing regions are under unprecedented strain” and cited a number of “alternative production methods” it had identified – such as “drones, precision crop mapping and ‘closed-loop’ systems of resources”.

It found that 68% of 18-to-24-year-olds “are drawn to either a vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian diet”.

The discounter also said: “There is a greater appetite for food with health-enforced claims and alternatives among UK consumers.”

At the end of the 2018/19 financial year, Lidl employed 22,500 people, had 760 stores and 13 distribution centres and generated £6.6bn in sales.