Sustainability news

Sustainability news - a look behind the scenes

Introducing our updated Seafood Sourcing Policy

We’re absolutely committed to sourcing sustainable seafood that treads lightly on our environment - supporting fish stocks, marine ecosystems, fishing communities and all the while providing a nutritious source of food to Kiwis.

We know this is really important to our customers too and to articulate how we’re working closely with our supply partners on this, we’ve just updated and published our Seafood Sourcing Policy. Whether you’re part of the seafood industry or not, it’s well worth a read to understand how we’re working to improve outcomes and do better for all our stakeholders.

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Sustainable seafood caught locally or from verified sources Questions about any of our sustainability work? Reach out to the team at sustainability@ countdown.co.nz

Countdown’s Animal Welfare Survey

For the last three years, we have been running an annual animal welfare survey with our supply partners who provide us with beef, lamb, pork, chicken, eggs, dairy and farmed fish.

This is part of the wider work we’re undertaking to increase transparency and reporting on animal welfare within our supply chain, and to demonstrate the great work we know our supply partners and farmers are doing to care for animals while helping put food on the table for Kiwis. We have just completed this year’s survey - thank you to all who worked with us on this. We’re now working through the results of the survey which will support our Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare ranking and help to get customer recognition for this important work. You can read more about our work with supply partners on animal welfare and how we’re caring for animals here.

Phasing out single-use plastic produce bags:

From 25 July, customers across Aotearoa will be going without single-use plastic produce bags as we kick off a pilot that will remove the bags from a further 19 stores, joining Metro Herne Bay which opened without the bags in June. Plastic is a real concern for all of us, and these bags have been a hot topic for a number of years now. Despite that sentiment, there are still around 50 million of these bags being used each year! Throughout the pilot, we’ll be seeking feedback about the change and to understand how we can help Kiwis make the switch to reusable options for the long-term. This feedback will be invaluable as we look to roll it out to more stores in the coming months and as the government ban on these bags comes into effect in mid-2023.

Our 20 pilot stores are:

Countdown Browns Bay, Auckland Countdown Bethlehem, Tauranga Countdown Takapuna, Auckland Countdown Napier, Napier Countdown Greville, Auckland Countdown The Valley, New Plymouth Countdown Grey Lynn, Auckland Countdown Rotorua, Rotorua Metro Herne bay, Auckland* Countdown Awapuni, Palmerston North Countdown Mangere East, Auckland Countdown Johnsonville, Wellington Countdown Manukau, Auckland Countdown Cable Car, Wellington Countdown Waiata Shores, Auckland Countdown Blenheim, Blenheim Countdown Hamilton, Hamilton Countdown Ferrymead, Christchurch Countdown Bridge St, Hamilton Countdown Eastgate, Christchurch