Author: Santa Magone

On the 6th of October the United Nations announced that ICA Gruppen has received an award for its “Beyond Climate Neutrality” climate ambition. The award will be presented in connection with the UN COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November. ICA is being recognised for its work to achieve climate neutrality in its own operations and its ambition to at the same time drive change for reduced climate impact both upstream in the supply chain as well as downstream among consumers.

In order to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the product sorting process and promote a safer work environment for employees, by investing 4.4 million euros Rimi has introduced a unique automated goods sorting system in the Baltics at the logistics center in Riga, A.Deglava Street 161. The system packs fresh food, fruits and vegetables, as well as alcoholic and other beverages for 168 stores throughout the Baltics.

To celebrate the Baltic front-runners in sustainability and highlight the increasing role of innovations in sustainability, Rimi Baltic launches the Sustainability Awards. Applications for the Awards are open from 20th of September until the 20th of October.
Winners from all Baltic states will be announced during the Awards Ceremony at the Future Form conference on the 9th of December. Enterprises, organizations, startups, and individuals are welcome to apply for the Awards in three categories – Impact, Innovation, and Changemaker.

ICA Gruppen, the parent company of the retailer Rimi, has been recognized as the most climate-friendly retail company in Europe in the ranking of climate leaders by the international newspaper Financial Times. In total, the Financial Times’ climate leader list includes 300 companies of various industries that have achieved the highest results in reducing emissions.

In March, our external auditing partner Bureau Veritas performed a “Recertification audit” for two international standards: ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System). During the audit, which happens every three years, auditors check that we continue to fulfil the challenging requirements of both standards. 

In Europe’s largest independent brand study on sustainability – Sustainable Brand Index™ – Rimi has won 1st place in Latvia, becoming the winner of both this year’s food retail industry and the overall ranking, and improving our 2020 performance by one position. In the brand sustainability index, Rimi ranked fourth in Estonia and twelfth in Lithuania, significantly improving our position compared to the 2020.

Two of Rimi private label products have been recognised as the best products of 2021 and won at the European Private Label Awards. Selection by Rimi Carrot Pesto won the title of the best product in the European Private Label Awards Ambient Grocery (packaged food that can be stored at room temperature) category, gluten-free Rimi Pumpkin Seed Flour won in the Free-From Foods (gluten-free, lactose-free, nut-free and egg-free products) category.

In support of sustainable choices in the purchase of fish and seafood, already from June 1, 2020 Rimi has stopped buying fish from the Red List of the “Fish Guide” developed by the World Wide Fund for Nature in all Baltic countries. Rimi is the first retailer in the Baltics to stop selling red-listed fish, thus … Continued

Compared to 2006, Rimi has achieved a climate neutrality of 81%  making the company more sustainable. The remaining 19% is reimbursed through climate agencies. “The greatest potential for achieving Rimi’s climate neutrality is created using renewable energy,” emphasizes Zanda Šadre, Corporate Brand & Communications Director in Rimi Baltic. She points out that LED lighting and … Continued

The European Union’s Plastics Directive prohibits the placing on the market of single-use plastic products from July 3rd, 2021. In 2018, Rimi’s parent company ICA Gruppen adopted a plastics strategy, where one of the goals was to eliminate disposable plastic products from sales throughout the Group by the end of 2020. Today, all Rimi stores … Continued