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PHOTO COURTESY OF KROGER
LAST YEAR, KROGER HIT $90.4 BILLION IN ANNUAL SALES ACROSS TWO-DOZEN BANNERS IN 30-PLUS STATES, EVEN AS IT RAISED SUS- TAINABILITY TO THE NEXT PLATEAU. Countering trends by racking up multiple quarters of consecutive same-store sales increases through the recession and economic downturn, the strategy seems to be working.
In a world where corporate executives drive or discard sustainability initiatives based on the bottom line, Kroger champions the social human- itarian leg of sustainability, so often subjugated or played superficially as a marketing tool. Yet Kroger’s social initiatives pack a punch that parallels its size, reverberating through communities with life-altering outcomes.
Produce executives should take notice, as most of Kroger’s social ini- tiatives channel fresh fruits and vegetables, beseeching industry opportunity. Many of these programs, whether it is through donations to charitable groups or through produce department volunteerism, touch on a range of social issues, from the fight to end hunger and address- ing the obesity epidemic, to health and nutrition issues and supporting environmentally friendly, locally grown and state agriculture programs.
Ironically, Kroger’s success stems from an uncanny ability to morph from corporate conglomerate grandiosity to an independent, neighbor- hood store mindset. The company generates a groundswell of support by engaging and enabling its employees — more than 330,000 strong — as well as growers, suppliers and customers.
Kroger’s mantra is to empower those throughout the company to stay nimble and attentive to local community needs. This undertaking could seem daunting with 2,400-plus stores dispersed among its varied super-
market banners including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Jay C, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith’s. The mis- sion, however, is rooted in historic precedent.
Deep Roots In Charity
SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY Kroger Empowers and Enables Employees to Engage with Their Communities
BY MIRA SLOTT
Kroger’s pledge to social
sustainability is personal, deep
and committed. This is not a
fleeting trip to the altar. “We
have pictures during the
Depression of founder Barney
Kroger giving away food to the
hungry, opening his arms to
people lining up at the store for
day-old bread,” says Lynn
Marmer, senior vice president of
corporate affairs, chief sustainability officer. “So the concept of giving was always there. However, the ability to scale that to hundreds and hun- dreds of stores, each facing different criteria, has required real partnership,” she says, of the infrastructure, logistics and other com- plexities involved in building and running Kroger’s Perishable Donations Partnership (PDP) program.
With participation at almost 90 percent of Kroger’s stores, PDP gener-
PRODUCE BUSINESS Editor-in-Chief, Jim Prevor, presents the Retail Sustainability Award to Lynn Marmer, Kroger’s senior vice president of corporate affairs, chief sustainability office.
MAY 2012 • PRODUCE BUSINESS 27
PHOTO BY MARTY WHITACRE