SUSTAINABLE FARMING
We want to contribute to – and shape – a sustainable food system that benefits our community well into the future, while managing our impact on people, animals and the environment.
Over the last few decades, it’s become clear that we need to find ways to produce food and other raw materials more ethically and sustainably, in harmony with nature. Since most of our operational impact comes from farming and processing our products, we’ve made it a priority to work with our suppliers to make real, lasting changes in this regard.
OUR GOAL
OUR PLAN IN ACTION
We work closely with our suppliers and ensure that they understand our goals around sustainable farming and responsible sourcing, and are on board to help us work towards them. With this in mind, we’ve created sustainable farming, fishing, and animal welfare programmes, policies and guidelines to make sure that we’re always on the same page.
FARMING FOR THE FUTURE
Together with our local farmers, we believe in growing food in a sustainable way and in harmony with nature. By keeping the ecosystem resilient, using less waste and promoting healthy soil, we’re making sure future generations will continue to be able to grow their own food.
Here are some of our most important milestones
FISHING FOR THE FUTURE
Our Fishing for the Future journey started in 2008, when Woolworths became the first South African retailer to sign the WWF-SA Sustainable Seafood Initiative (WWF-SASSI) Retail Charter. More than a decade later, we’re still deeply committed to procuring all seafood from sustainable fisheries and responsible farming operations.
The programme has recently been refreshed and includes coverage of the economic, environmental, and social aspects of fishing. The programme has three pillars:
- Responsible sourcing
- Responsible consumption
- Proactive transparency
Here are some of our most important milestones
Find out more about our Fishing for the Future programme
ANIMAL WELFARE
We believe that it’s our responsibility to ensure our suppliers treat the animals in our supply chain with respect, in the most humane way possible, and are committed to a journey of continuous improvement. We work with our suppliers to improve animal welfare, and minimise any potential harm, stress or pain, and aim to meet the Five Freedoms that describe the ideal state of animal welfare:
- Freedom from hunger and thirst
- Freedom from discomfort
- Freedom from pain, injury or disease
- Freedom to express normal behaviour
- Freedom from fear and distress
We also expect our suppliers to adhere to relevant national and international animal welfare standards.
We support these principles of animal welfare.
Woolworths does not permit the use of exotic skins, like snake, alligator, crocodile, and lizard, nor the use of endangered species that appear on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES, all Appendices I, II, III), or the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, in our products.
ANTIBIOTICS
Woolworths is on a journey to reduce the use of antibiotics in our food supply chain – particularly those that are critical to human health. The use of antibiotics in animals in our supply chain is informed by our Antimicrobial Guideline, which sets out five principles with regards to antibiotics: record, reduce, replace, refine, remove.
DID YOU KNOW?
- More than 90% of Woolworths private label products have at least 1 sustainability attribute. Sustainability attributes are product characteristics that contribute to minimising the social and/or environmental impacts of a product at one or more stages in the value chain.
PLAYING YOUR PART
Buy Woolies products labelled with Farming or Fishing for the Future, free range, Kinder to Sows or BWC logos
OUR SUSTAINABLE FARMING PROGRAMMES CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS THESE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: