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says Jeanne Von Zastrow, senior director of sustainability at FMI. “She was chair of this committee in 2013, which includes 18 companies working to iden- tify issues and develop tools and resources to help our industry move faster with sustainability practices in our industry.” Olenick is also a key player in the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a multi association effort to reduce, repur- pose and recycle food waste and keep it out of landfill. “Her enthusiasm and hard work has been an incredible asset to FMI and the pre-competitive collaborative work to help our industry — including developing the Food Waste Reduction Best Practices Toolkit and our Sustain- able Sourcing Guide,” she says.
Capitalizing on the most proven and promising sustainability programs, Weis also is unafraid to forge new territory and challenge the industry’s status quo, according to John Lerch, director of energy and facilities and 36-year veteran with the company.
Weis Markets brings an important piece to the industry ’s multifaceted retail sustainability puzzle. Acknowl- edging jagged edges, Weis executives amped up the mission several years ago. According to Small, the company recognized the need to systemize evolving sustainability programs with
clarity by using consistent marketing and colorful brand messaging within the company, throughout the supply chain, and directly with its customers and communities.
ICONIC MESSAGING
In an effort to align its message, explains Olenick, Weis highlights five pillars of its sustainability program. These are represented by cleverly designed icons represented on store
signage and marketing materials to symbolically show how Weis: recycles and reduces waste; reduces energy use; reduces water use; impacts the community; and remains earth friendly.
While the icons are similar in size, design and number of descriptive bene- fits, each element encompasses a varied range of the company’s overall sustain- ability strategy and the paybacks. For instance, Weis dived deep into the energy pillar, which was “the low-hanging fruit,”
RETAIL SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS - WEIS MARKETS
Jeremy Hazlak, energy projects manager
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