Dive Brief:
- Online grocery store Thrive Market launched a climate-focused initiative Wednesday that seeks to help over 1,000 brands measure and cut their carbon and plastic footprints.
- The retailer — which operates on a membership-based model and boasts an inventory focused on “healthy food” — said its Climate Action Working Group will offer consumer brands and suppliers measurement tools and frameworks to track greenhouse gas emissions and plastic waste. The initiative will also offer access to educational webinars and case studies, data collection templates and checklists.
- The program was developed in collaboration with sustainability management platform Planet FWD, plastic pollution specialist PCX Markets and Climate Positive Consulting, which helps companies set decarbonization strategies, according to an April 8 release.
Dive Insight:
Thrive said the program will focus on helping brands measure their carbon emissions and plastic packaging impacts and set reduction goals in the first year. The online grocer said the program’s goal is for all participants to measure their emissions and set science-based targets, and for those that are already measuring emissions to progress toward target validation and deeper emissions cuts.
The program also lays out similar goals for plastics. It aims for all participating brands to measure their plastic footprint and set reduction goals, and for those who are already tracking their plastic use to accelerate progress.
"With climate disclosure rules and packaging reporting regulations expanding across the U.S., brands are being asked to back their environmental claims with real data," Climate Positive Consulting CEO David Jaber said in the release. "This working group gives companies a pathway to start measuring their footprint, and, if they choose, commit to science-based climate goals with progress tracked year over year."
The program also supports Thrive Market’s broader sustainability targets, which includes a goal to become the “world’s first climate positive grocery store,” per its website. Thrive already claims to be carbon neutral and is working toward becoming climate positive by 2030, according to the website. Additionally, the grocer reported its warehouses recycle or repurpose at least 90% of materials that enter the facilities by either diverting them away from landfills, incineration and the environment. The retailer’s warehouse recycling practices landed Thrive a “Certified for Zero Waste” label from certification program TRUE, which recognizes businesses and facilities for cutting waste, reducing costs, and promoting sustainability.
Thrive said in the release the program will support its scope 3 goals as it will fast-track emission reductions across its supply chains by helping brands measure their impact and set climate goals. As part of its scope 3 goals, Thrive has committed to working with suppliers that represent 67% of emissions derived from purchased goods, services, and upstream transportation to set science-based targets by the end of the decade.
