Coles

Coles announced a three-year partnership with Planet Ark in June 2023. The partnership continues to see the two organisations work together on a range of waste reduction and recycling initiatives. Coles has also been a Major Sponsor of Planet Ark’s National Recycling week since 2022.

By committing to the entire Coles Group achieving their 100% renewable electricity target by June 2025, pioneering initiatives to redesign packaging, and championing the Australasian Recycling Label, Coles has established itself as a leader in driving positive environmental transformation. The partnership with Planet Ark will help to amplify positive environmental impact throughout Australia as well as bring about lasting positive change for Coles’ customers and our shared environment.

REDUCING WASTE

Reducing food waste and unnecessary packaging is important to Coles’ customers. By working with industry partners, suppliers and government, Coles aims to increase food security, reduce waste and conserve valuable resources.

During the first year of the partnership, Planet Ark worked with Coles on a range of social media campaigns to target reducing food waste, including sharing tips and tricks to manage food waste in the home. This included the release of a fridge checklist to help Coles’ customers keep track of what’s in their fridge and ultimately waste less food.

Planet Ark is also pleased to have supported some of Coles’ recent packaging changes that avoid plastic waste and provide customers with a recyclable alternative. This includes the launch of recyclable paper packaging in the fresh produce section for a select range of mandarins and potatoes. 

Coles continues to support progress towards Australia’s National Packaging Targets and has successfully added the Australasian Recycle Label (ARL) to the artwork of 100% of its Own Brand products (1). The ARL provides Australians with easy-to-understand recycling information that helps to remove confusion at the recycling bin, save time for users and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

In November 2023, Coles won the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) Industry Education Award for its Supplier Packaging Enablement Program. The program is designed to share knowledge and assist Coles Own Brand suppliers to select more sustainable packaging. 

Learn more  about Coles’ sustainability ambitions and initiatives.   

 SUPPORTING PLANET ARK  

You can now help fund Planet Ark programs, such as National Tree Day and Recycling Near You, when you buy So Soft & Strong Facial Tissues at Coles stores.  For every box sold, Coles has committed to donating 5c to Planet Ark.    

These tissue boxes were included in a redesign of Coles key Own Brand tissue products in 2023, which saw the plastic opening removed, taking out 13 tonnes of plastic from circulation in one year (2), or the equivalent of 412,000 plastic bags. 

Buying one of these tissue boxes from your local Coles supermarket is a simple way to help us continue to make a big difference by making positive environmental actions available to all Australians. Keep an eye out for our logo on the box!   

Coles’ So Soft & Strong Aloe Vera and So Soft & Strong Eucalyptus are also available to purchase online. 

1 To avoid waste, some Coles Own Brand products without the ARL may still appear in stores until sold, as updated artwork flows through the store network. 

2 Based on unit sales over a 52-week period until June 2022.