Packaging
As part of our category review process and supplier business reviews, we make an effort to understand what our suppliers' sustainable initiatives are and where we could incorporate these into our own initiatives - environmentally friendly packaging being one example.
By switching to a new vendor, Publix found the opportunity to reduce the plastic resin in the bottles used for our private label bottled water. Reducing this plastic by over seven grams per bottle has helped Publix save over 3.6 million pounds of plastic per year which reduces annual greenhouse gas emissions by over 1,100 tons.
We worked with our film supplier to identify a more sustainable film for sealing Publix Brand Deli Salads. The new film is comprised of 30% post-consumer recycled material, which is equivalent to more than 1.9 million square feet of recycled material being used in our Deli Kitchen Manufacturing Plant. MSP and the Meat, Produce, and Deli RBUs were able to reduce the plastic used to package our fresh products. Through an improvement in technology we were able to transition to an overwrap plastic film that is lighter weight but still meets our quality requirements. This improvement reduces our plastics use by an estimated 384,000 pounds annually. And because we can add more film on a roll, we have reduced the number of deliveries needed, saving on fuel.
In 2010 we also changed the Rotisserie Chicken bags used in our Delis to a bag made of unbleached natural chlorine-free paper. The bags are certified as compostable and biodegradable.
