The Truth about Kroger’s Zero Waste Claims
I know, no brand is perfect and no grocery store is perfect. But is greenwashing the answer? No. Let’s get into the Kroger slander today and discuss why I don’t like Kroger as a brand. I’ve had suspicious feelings about them for years but my research is what holds the truth, not just opinions. Let’s get into it.
Kroger’s claims for themselves
This is what really started the hatred for me. Kroger claims to be zero waste. I know that there is no such thing as perfect zero-waste living, but if trolls on the internet can get mad at me for using one piece of plastic here and there as a self-proclaimed zero waster, we can get mad at Kroger for much more. Kroger has their Zero Hunger, Zero Waste program aimed to divert food waste from landfills and feed people instead. This is a great step in the right direction, but they cannot say that 100% of their food waste is usable food to eat. Surely some of it is bad.
But, from their website here, it sounds like they’re just giving money to others who are innovating the food waste game. Again, this isn’t bad, but how is Kroger itself diverting food waste? Or are they at all? We will get into that in a minute.
I found this gem tucked away in their ESG report: “…continued to divert more than 90% of the waste produced in their operations from landfill—our definition of zero waste.” Sir, you can’t just make up your own definition and call it a day! This is a prime example of greenwashing.
So, when they say they’re zero waste, they’re really 90% zero waste. Keep that in mind.
I know, I know, no one is or can be perfect. But I think corporations can be better than us as individuals. First off, they’re the ones making the system. Second, they have much more money and resources to create change than we do. If they wanted to they would.
Kroger's sales and profits
We also need to address the elephant in the room. Kroger is a multi-billion dollar company. That isn’t a typo. In 2023, Kroger made $148.3 billion in sales. What I especially found funny about this is that this number was at the top of their statics page on their Environmental, Social, and Governance Report. Just weird is all. But, that’s sales, not profits. In 2023, they profited $31.778 billion. Again, with a “B.” This doesn’t sway me either way, but it’s just good information to know.
Kroger acquisitions
What also put Kroger on my naughty list is their never-ending quest to acquire small grocery stores. This isn’t inherently unsustainable, but to me, it’s unethical. We are losing access to family-owned, small businesses and are having to resort to supporting billion-dollar corporations instead. Not only this, but it also limits our overall choice in the marketplace. It may appear that we still have the choice between Kroger and Fred Meyer and Smith’s and Albertson’s, but in reality, they all belong to Kroger. That isn’t much of a choice at all. Here is a full list of all the companies that Kroger has acquired.
Food Waste
Okay, let’s get into the meat of their ESG report and how zero-waste Kroger truly is. We of course have to talk about food waste. These are their numbers from 2023:
Since they didn’t break it down for us, here are the percentages:
17% goes to animal feed
12% is anaerobically digested
12% is composted
5% is turned into biodiesel
And 54% is landfilled
I don’t know about you, but over half of your food waste going to the landfill doesn’t scream “Zero Waste” to me. I even divert more food waste than that and people call me a fake zero waster.
I’m particularly more confused now about their Zero Hunger Zero Waste initiative. That plan makes it seem like they’re taking what would’ve been store food waste and using that to feed the hungry, but according to their own chart, they are now. Again, it’s great they’re not sending 100% to the landfill, this does cut food waste emissions in half, but this is NOT zero waste.
It’s also cool to see their improvement in this graph
But it’s also not great. Their goal is to divert 95% of their landfilled food waste by next year and they’ve clearly stagnated since 2020. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Keep in mind this is also a prime example of greenwashing. When Kroger boats “We’ve diverted 46% of our food waste from landfills” it sounds great. I mean, it is GOOD, but we gotta look at the big picture. Just how much is that remaining 54% that goes to the landfill and how much methane does that emit? Well, that remaining 54% is 132,709 TONS. That’s right, tons, not pounds or kilograms. According to the EPA, every 1000 tons of food waste is about 34 metric tons of methane emissions. That means every year from Kroger alone from their food waste alone, they create 4488 metric tons of methane emissions. For comparison, each person produces about 16 tons annually. So, Kroger’s annual food waste emissions to equivalent to 280.5 people’s annual carbon footprints.
Again, any amount of reduction is GOOD but they cannot call themselves zero waste. Not quite yet.
Packaging
Now let’s get into their packaging. From their ESG report, they only give us stats on Kroger brand packaging, not other packaging they sell from other brands like Heinz and Silk and Kikkoman for example.
Let’s break down their packaging goals in the next 6 years:
Completing a baseline product packaging footprint to fully understand current packaging impacts
This means that their goal is to just take a look at their packaging and understand how it impacts the environment. That’s it. Yes, it’s important, but do they really need 6 years to achieve this? Surely this could be done quicker and implemented sooner than 2030.
Seeking to achieve 100% recyclable, compostable and/or reusable packaging for Our Brands products
Yay this is a great goal! From a bird's eye view, that is. Unfortunately, everything is technically recyclable, but will it be recycled, that’s the real question. So, thin plastic-packaging technically fits with this goal. It IS recyclable. But can customers recycle it curbside or even in a take-back program? It depends, but I can tell you that it won’t be 100% of customers having access to recycling odds and ends.
Increasing recycled content in packaging so that the Our Brands product portfolio collectively contains at least 10% PCR content material in packaging
Another great goal, but only 10%? Why not aim higher?
Increasing awareness among Kroger customers about how to properly manage Our Brands product packaging at end-of-life
THIS!! This is what we need. We need corporate action to not only make their packaging recyclable but also tell customers HOW to recycle it. Since thin plastics are not commonly accepted curbside, tell customers how they can recycle it otherwise. I’m curious to see how they do it. Signage in the stores? QR codes on their packaging with instructions? I’m not sure. I hope it’s more than just a recycling symbol that can lead to wishcycling.
Again, this is only Kroger Brand packaging. They really can’t control what Heinz ketchup or Ben and Jerry’s ice cream does with their packaging. I couldn’t find a good source on how much Kroger Brand vs Name Brand is sold in their stores so this may be another case of greenwashing. If, for example’s sake, they only stock 10% of their inventory with Kroger Brand. Cool, Kroger Brands achieved 100% recyclable, compostable, or reusable, but that 100% of packaging is only 10% of their inventory. These goals don’t tell the whole story. While they cannot control Name Brand packaging, they can choose who and who not to stock.
Kroger is also investing in PP and PET recycling initiatives to make them easier and more accepted curbside due to infrastructure increase to actually recycle these types of plastic. Don’t know the types of plastics? Learn more here. Another great step in the right direction, but I wish instead of focusing on the band-aid solution that recycling is, that they would just reduce the amount of plastic they use. I get it, it’s hard, especially in the food space where plastic is the cheapest, lightest, least breakable, and often more hygienic. But they really should know that recycling is not THE solution to our waste.
Let’s also take a look at this chart to see what they mean by all of these recycling goals:
I’m really glad they clarified these and they know that the best materials are metal, paper, and glass and NOT plastic. But, it also shows they have a long way to go with 50% being non-recyclable.
They did let me bring my own bags!
Biodiversity and Conservation
After years and years of recycling and food waste research, I like to consider myself a subject matter expert, which is why I have a lot to say in those categories. But I am not that well-versed in biodiversity and deforestation. So, we will highlight a few key takeaways in this category, but we won’t get as in-depth.
First, fish
For seafood, they opt for wild-caught seafood, they support fishery improvement projects, and “ they are committed to sourcing all shelf-stable tuna from suppliers32 participating in the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, with 98.1% of our suppliers, by volume, aligned with this requirement in 2022.”
Now, let’s talk palm oil.
“We will source palm oil, palm kernel oil, and palm oil derivatives from sources certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). In 2022, approximately 96% of palm-based ingredients used in Our Brands products came from certified sources, and 93% of reported palm oil in products was certified to the Mass Balance supply chain standard or higher. We will work with our suppliers to advance toward 100% alignment with this goal.”
What does this mean? It means it’s a good step, but RSPO isn’t exactly the most reputable certifier. You can learn more about palm oil in this old (but still relevant) YouTube video. In short, RSPO’s criteria is very vague and easy to skirt around. It’s better than NOT being certified, but this certification isn’t really that great.
Okay, now paper
“We will source paper packaging that is certified to a sustainable forestry standard (including FSC,33 SFI34, and PEFC35) and/or includes recycled content, as measured by weight. In 2022, 95% of paper packaging used in our manufacturing plants met our goal. Today, 93% of Our Brands household paper goods like tissues, paper towels, and toilet paper are also aligned. In addition, 45% of Our Brands paper-based packaging is certified or contains recycled content.”
Again, great steps in the right direction. This means that 93% of the paper you buy is certified sustainable OR recycled and 45% of their packaging meets the same requirements. But, this is just Kroger Brand, not other vendors. If you’d like me to do a deep dive into FSC, let me know! I’m wary that it may be kind of like RSPO…but that’s a story for another day.
We’ve gotta talk about soy and beef, too
It’s curious that in their report, they have these two separate when they’re really quite the same. Why? Guess who eats more soy than humans? Cows. Anywho, in 2022, they source 99% of their soy products (tofu, soy oil, etc) from North American sources meaning the deforestation risk is low. This is kind of funny, cause our farmland WAS a forest once, just 100s of years ago. It WAS deforested, just not recently. This isn’t a dig at Kroger, just an observation. No matter, this does mean emissions are lower since they are grown closer!
Now, beef. This one is kind of greenwashy to me. While they source 99% of beef from North America, too, they claim this lowers the risks of deforestation. How? Do they know what these farms are feeding the cattle? Do they know where that feed is coming from? For all they know, the cattle are fed soy from deforested areas. While it may not be contributing to deforestation first-hand, it is contributing second-hand IF they’re fed this soy. Kroger didn’t specify so I can’t say for sure, but since they didn’t specify, I do have to make assumptions and this is one of the possibilities.
And more!
For the sake of this post that is already getting way too long, know that Kroger also talks about pollinators, energy conservation, greenhouse gas emissions, water conservation, and more in their report you can read in full here. If you’d like me to make a part two, let me know and I can dig into these other claims at a later date.
Okay, I threw around a lot of greenwashing examples and you may be confused about what greenwashing is and how to spot it. Good news! I have a free guide to spotting greenwashing you can download here.
Am I glad Kroger is striving to be better? Absolutely! But, there were too many cases of greenwashing I spotted in their ESG report and website to ignore. As a company that profits $32 BILLION a year, they CAN do better. They have the money and resources to do better.
Now, is Kroger being perfectly zero waste going to single-handedly save the planet? No. But, if small businesses can do it, they can too. And if Kroger does it, who knows how many other brands would hop on board. We need everyone participating to make a cleaner planet and future.
Will I be supporting Kroger? Probably not. No matter how much seemingly good they are doing in the world, I prefer to give my money to small businesses and family-owned grocery stores personally. Is Kroger a bad option? No. I think it’s decent if this is the only option you have locally, don’t feel bad for supporting them (or their subsidiaries).
Let us know below which grocery store you prefer to shop at and let me know which one I should dive into next. Be sure to watch the vlog that goes along with this post where I take this knowledge to a local Kroger and see if I can zero waste shop there as a customer.
As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)
Emma
