Loblaw ending use of plastic grocery bags

Loblaw Cos. Limited, Brampton, Ontario, has announced that effective Nov. 1 it will no longer offer single-use plastic shopping bags at its grocery stores across the Northwest Territories, including Glen’s Independent Grocer and Rochdi’s Independent Grocer.

The announcement is the next step in the company’s efforts to reduce single-use plastic and its overall environmental footprint.

“We are a purpose-led organization, with a goal to help Canadians live life well. Our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint is an important part of that,” said Loblaw Chief Operating Officer Robert Sawyer says. “Our efforts to remove single-use plastic bags from our stores have already resulted in 13 billion fewer bags going to landfill. But we know there’s more work to be done.”

The company, which operates more than 2,400 grocery stores across Canada, also reports it has reduced its carbon footprint by 30.9 percent since 2011 and reduced its landfilled food waste by 86 percent since 2017.

Customers are encouraged to bring their own bags to the stores, but there will also be a variety of reusable alternatives available at checkout lanes, including the the black President’s Choice reusable bag or President’s Choice reusable totes, which are for sale at stores and online.

This is the latest in a line of announcements related to Loblaw’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts. Loblaw also has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions and by 2050 for Scope 3 emissions, reducing plastic waste by making all of its control brand and in-store packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, and sending zero food waste to landfill by 2030. The full scope of the company’s ESG commitments can be found in its 2021 ESG Report.