Waste Management
Our commitment to circular economy is unequivocal and is marked with reduction in use of materials, segregation of waste and recycling plastic, metal and paper.
We follow the waste management hierarchy pyramid as a guiding principle which promotes waste avoidance ahead of recycling and disposal.
In line with our goal to achieve our zero waste to landfill goal by 2030, last year we undertook several measures to remove Singe use plastics (SUP) from our offices and warehouses (know more).
In order to optimise our recycling process, we piloted waste characterisation study at our office, warehouse and store. The study clearly identified the type and quantity of waste we generate and the weaknesses of the current waste sorting and disposal system. Utilising the results of this audit, we have redefined our recycling strategy to bolster our waste recycling percentage.
We are conscious of the environmental footprint of operating 459 number of stores across 6 countries. Therefore, we have set our “Store Sustainability Strategy” with three focus areas which includes eliminating SUPs, paperless operation and recycling the unavoidable waste generated at the stores.
Action plan to implement the strategy along with SMART targets to measure the success of the strategy has been set as well. The objectives of this strategy are part of our retail store operations team’s 2021 KPIs to ensure it is driven with dedication. Additionally, we are reviewing incentive programs for all our FOH teams to encourage them to be proactive. We have also developed a sprint plan for the roll out of the strategy across six countries.
A store sustainability steering committee has been set up to review performance every months. Additionally, we have also included sustainability performance parameters (based on our STEP internal assessment) to the quarterly stores audit to ensure that the procedures put in place are being consistently applied. To augment the implementation of the strategy following targets have been set.
Buy in of our team is key to successful implementation of the strategy, keeping this in mind we developed training and awareness material for the store operations team in both English and Arabic.
