In accordance with the motto of sustainable business “For a better tomorrow”, the company Lidl Serbia has made changes in its range, all with the aim of a responsible attitude towards nature. Consumers can expect several novelties: a reusable bag for fruits and vegetables, the abolition of disposable plastic and the reduction of plastic packaging.
As a socially responsible company, when making business decisions, Lidl Serbia takes into account social and environmental factors. Lidl says that these are the first measures that the company will take in order to reduce the use of plastics, and which are directly related to two of the five strategic pillars of responsibility: assortment and environmental protection.
MULTIPLE BAG FOR FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
With the introduction of this bag on the Lidl market, Lidl Serbia thus became the first retail chain in Serbia to offer its consumers an alternative option. A package of 2 bags can be found at a price of 60 cents. What makes them practical is that they can be washed at 30 degrees in a washing machine, they can carry up to 5 kg, so one bag is enough for more purchases.
DISPOSAL OF DISPOSABLE PLASTICS
Plastic dining accessories and plastic cups can no longer be found in Lidl stores, while Lidl’s “Cien” and “Lupila” brand earplugs are now paper, not plastic. In this way, the company wants to move away from the practice of using disposable plastic, which is considered a major polluter of the environment, and encourage the use of other alternatives.
SMALLER PACKAGING – SAME QUANTITY
The packaging of certain products from the assortment of nuts and dried fruits of the “Alesto” brand has been reduced by about 20%, and the same amount of products is in the bag itself. This not only saves on the use of packaging material, but also reduces CO2 emissions, because due to the smaller size of packaging on one pallet, it is possible to transport more packaging. These products have a clear label on the reduction of packaging.
Lidl Serbia is part of the Schwartz Group and follows the “REset Plastic” strategy for responsible plastic management, which focuses on five areas of activity: from avoiding the use of plastics, recycling and removal from nature, to encouraging environmental innovation and education in this area.
With this strategy, the company has defined two goals regarding the plastic packaging of Lidl brands that it should fulfill by 2025, and those are: reduction of the use of plastic by 20 percent and 100 percent recyclable packaging.
We believe that large companies have a great impact on sustainable development and that they should use their resources to educate the community and apply good practices. We have therefore decided to offer consumers a “green” alternative – a reusable bag for fruit and vegetables can now be found at Lidl Market. In addition, we eliminated five disposable plastic products from the offer and reduced individual packages of Lidl brands, leaving the quantity of products the same. This is just the beginning of the measures we will take when it comes to our range and we hope to motivate consumers to jointly
preserve the environment in which we live, said Nikola Balaban, Executive Director of the Procurement Directorate of Lidl Serbia.
“For a better tomorrow”
As an international trade chain, Lidl Serbia takes into account social and environmental factors in its daily operations, in addition to economic ones. Through the motto of responsibility “For a better tomorrow”, the company Lidl Serbia strives to build a long-term strategy of socially responsible business that should have a positive impact on the entire environment. Lidl’s socially responsible activities are based on five pillars: assortment, employees, the environment, society and business partners, Nova Ekonomija writes.
