SPAR South Africa’s sustainability tagline, ‘My SPAR, Our Tomorrow’ is a public commitment to the future of the SPAR Brand and our planet. SPAR South Africa wants to reduce its overall impact and contribute to social and natural ecosystems’ wellbeing. The company has a number of own brand packaging goals to achieve over the next four years.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

SPAR South Africa is on a sustainability journey to eliminate problematic and unnecessary plastic and to design new packaging that is recyclable or reusable. Sustainable packaging has been rolled out for certain SPAR Own Brand products, in line with the company’s short-term focus on the 10 categories that deliver 80% of SPAR’s house brand volumes. The two-litre milk cartons used for extra shelf-life milk are 100% recyclable and made from 87% renewably sourced material. The reverse of the pack includes information about a circular economy and how shoppers can assist with recycling. SPAR South Africa supports recyclable materials whereby waste is converted to reusable materials and using materials from renewable sources that can be naturally replaced, with the goal of using only sustainably sourced materials that do not negatively impact the future.

This video, part of a campaign to highlight SPAR South Africa’s sustainability actions, outlines the benefits of the two-litre milk cartons for extra shelf life milk.

SA Plastic Pact

SPAR South Africa’s environmental goals include having 100% of plastic packaging which is reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025. SPAR is one of the founding members of the South African Plastics Pact. The Pact aims to create a circular economy that drives investment in infrastructure, supports livelihoods and keeps our environment free of plastic pollution.

Innovative solutions

Another way SPAR South Africa is looking to keep our environment free from harmful pollution is the introduction of a new non-toxic, odourless, and eco-friendly firelighter. The product is suitable for indoor fires, barbecues and is made using dung sourced from rhinoceros. Rethinking the way we produce products, this SPAR Own Brand item successfully incorporates a sustainable, environmentally-friendly alternative to other more harmful firelighter products. Moreover, each box purchased will see a contribution made on our behalf to the Zululand Rhino Orphanage. As barbecuing is inherent to South African culture and SPAR South Africa is a leader in the outdoor category, contributing SAR72.9 million to the segment (Insight SCAN; 12 months; June 21), there is great potential for this product.

Committed to a sustainable future

SPAR South Africa not only focuses on introducing more sustainable packaging, but they are actively reducing plastic and plastic waste.  Carrier bags sold in SPAR stores nationwide are made from 100% recycled materials and are 100% recyclable. This switch ensures that approximately 4,000 tonnes of plastic waste are diverted from landfills every year, resulting in a 40% reduction in its carbon footprint.

Read more about SPAR South Africa’s sustainability strategy and SPAR’s international responsible retailing strategy here.

Source: SPAR South Africa

Read more about SPAR in South Africa

About SPAR South Africa

SPAR South Africa was established in 1963 and operates four retail formats: SPAR, SPAR Express (operated in conjunction with Shell as a petrol forecourt store), KWIKSPAR (which focuses on convenience in city centres and high footfall locations) and SUPERSPAR (similar to EUROSPAR in offer).

South Africa was the first country outside of Europe to join the SPAR organisation. The SPAR Group Ltd South Africa grants sub-licences to independent retailers to operate stores under one of the four formats. Almost all the current store portfolio is independently owned.