Building on a commitment to deliver the ingredients for a better life, food solutions company SpartanNash has released its inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) report. The report supports SpartanNash’s ongoing efforts to drive transparency and Company excellence, while highlighting strategic priorities and successes tied to specific ESG milestones and metrics.

“The release of our first-ever ESG report is just the beginning of the transformational journey happening at SpartanNash, and it serves as a reminder that we can only achieve business success when we protect and enhance the interests of our stakeholders,” said SpartanNash President and CEO Tony Sarsam. “Our Board of Directors, Executive Leadership Team and Associates have made a long-term commitment to promoting and integrating ESG into how we achieve our mission. We are proud of where we are today but recognize that progress is a journey, and we will dig deeper to set new benchmarks this year while continuing to hold ourselves accountable to ensure transparency and deliver a reliable, sustainable and resilient future for our stakeholders.”

SpartanNash has a legacy of community support and now has an emphasis on communicating sustainability and its commitment to promote and integrate ESG values. This report signals a new dedication to sharing the Company’s ESG progress annually with the public and key stakeholders, including 17,500 Associates working on the frontlines and behind the scenes every day to help keep American families stocked with food, medicine and household supplies.

SpartanNash’s ESG focus areas and corporate strategy align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“UN SDGs”), a shared framework to “improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.” The report structurally details SpartanNash’s ESG strategy that highlights SpartanNash’s core capabilities – People, Operational Excellence and Insights That Drive Solutions:

• People: As a People First Company, SpartanNash prioritizes engaging, developing and rewarding Associates; ensuring a diverse and inclusive workforce; and keeping Associates safe.
• Operational Excellence: As a top grocery distributor in the United States, SpartanNash understands the critical need to focus on efficiency, applied use of technology and partnerships to reduce waste. This portion of the report also covers optimizations to reduce the Company’s energy usage and carbon footprint.
• Insights That Drive Solutions: As a food solutions Company, SpartanNash is dedicated to promoting health and wellbeing by offering nutritious products with responsible labeling, as well as providing exceptional pharmacy services.This section of the report covers initiatives that focus on healthy, convenient and local options; transparent nutritional information; and related education to support healthy lifestyles of consumers and patients.

SpartanNash’s inaugural ESG report was developed under the guidance and oversight of dozens of senior leaders from every corner of the business, in addition to members of the Executive Leadership Team and Board of Directors. Together, this team will be monitoring progress and providing oversight for the coming years.

See related article: Valmont Releases 2022 Sustainability Report

The full report, now available for download on the Company’s website, goes into depth on initiatives and results as they ladder up to SpartanNash’s core capabilities and mission. Highlights from the 2021 report include:

Good Health and Wellbeing

• Administered 140,000+ vaccinations against COVID-19 through Company pharmacies.
• Invested in safety experts and programming that resulted in a 48% improvement in the Associate recordable injury rate.

Economic Growth:

• Increased pay by an average of over 10% for all entry-level roles in retail and supply chain areas, representing over 90% of SpartanNash Associates.
• Expanded the Company bonus program to include more Associates, representing a $2.4M investment in target bonuses in 2021 and a 57% increase in participants.

Reduced Inequalities:

• Evolved the talent review and succession planning process to include creation of talent pools for key roles, with a focus on increased representation of women and BIPOC in leadership.

Zero Hunger:

• Donated the equivalent of more than five million meals to local non-profit organizations throughout the Company’s footprint.

Responsible Consumption and Production:

• Partnered with Flashfood^® to discount food nearing its best-before date to eliminate 146,000 pounds of potential food waste.

Climate Action

• Developed a plan to reduce fleet mileage by 10% in 2022, which in turn would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10,000 metric tons. 

In addition to an annual ESG report, the Company will be providing ongoing updates on major initiatives throughout the year, including the commitment to eliminate 10% of fleet mileage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 10,000 metric tons in 2022.

Source: SpartanNash