Iceland’s managing director, Richard Walker, says the retailer will not achieve its goal of becoming the first UK supermarket to be ‘plastic neutral’ in 2022.
The frozen food retailer committed to this target at COP26 last year, following an announcement in 2018 that its own-label packaging would be plastic-free by 2023. It has now put a stop to its plans, claiming they are currently “impossible”.
In a blog post, Walker stated the retailer’s plans to reduce plastic cannot meet its original timeframe due to ongoing situations including the cost-of-living crisis and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Following these events, the price of food has since risen and grocery inflation is standing at 8.3%, its highest since April 2009, according to Kantar data.
READ MORE: Iceland boss Richard Walker urges businesses to ‘step up and do more’ amid cost-of-living woes
“I made a promise at the beginning of our plastic journey not to pass additional costs onto customers,” Iceland managing director Richard Walker said.
“We need to democratise sustainability, and that means making it understandable, accessible and affordable by everyone. If we became plastic neutral now, we would have to pass some of that extra cost onto customers – and I’m simply not prepared to do it.”
Walker also claimed the COVID-19 pandemic has factored into the plan’s failure as plastic packaging increased by 6% while online delivery services surged – despite the retailer’s ‘plastic neutral’ commitment being made as the pandemic was underway.
Although these targets will not be met, the supermarket chain claims it is continuing to make progress in reducing its plastic usage.
In June, Iceland became the first UK supermarket to launch plastic-free reusable woven bags made from a combination of paper and cotton, retailing at £1 each.
“I’ve had conversations with big players across the food and drink industry about how they could become plastic neutral too. Those conversations wouldn’t have happened if we had waited,” Walker added.
“I’m gutted that we won’t be plastic neutral this year. Although we won’t achieve our original target… I am confident that we are making progress and will move further ahead on our journey as we continue to work towards our unchanged plastic-free goal.”
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