If the answer is yes then start talking to your suppliers!
Fish & Pips signed up to our pledge system last winter. The focus for the first year was to create a baseline of waste. By weighing waste they now have a figure for food, plastic, recycled and non recycled waste created by each guest that stays in one of their catered chalet holidays.
They used this figure throughout last winter to begin to reduce their environmental impact. We saw a reduction of waste throughout the season due to the staffs commitment to improving their practices. The One Tree training session at the start of winter helped empower the staff to tackle the chalet format and they took it as far as they could.
With that in mind, for this winter they’re now focused on tackling the waste at source. Clare, Alpine Manager has written to Super U (French Supermarket) to see what practical changes to packaging and sustainable farming practices can be embraced. This will not only lead to a change for winter 2020/21 but also highlight to Super U the progressive direction Fish & Pips want to take.
We’ve included the letter below in both French and English, this is an open source letter, and we’re asking anyone involved in the ski industry to use it and contact their suppliers.
If the environmental impact of your company matters to you, your staff and your customers then please, use/modify this letter for your needs.
This process is extremely powerful and proven to work. The Boot Lab have been doing this for the last 3 years and it has lead to the removal of over 10,000 plastic bags from their supply line. It’s a simple process and as a company owner there is no excuse for not taking the time to tackle your impact.
If you need help tackling the waste created by your ski business please contact the One Tree team and we’ll use our resources to help you.
We’ve included the letter below in both French and English.
Bonjour,
J’espère que vous allez bien et que les préparations pour l’hiver avancent pour vous.
Nous (Fish & Pips) sommes client chez Super U depuis plus de 10 ans, utilisant les boutiques de Bourg St Maurice et Moutiers ainsi que plus récemment votre service de livraison. À l’approche de l’hiver, nous effectuons un audit complet de nos fournisseurs de produits alimentaires pour déterminer où nous devons apporter des changements afin d’atteindre nos objectifs environnementaux pour l’année prochaine. Nous travaillons avec une organisation locale One Tree at a Time (https://onetreeatatime.fr/) qui nous aide à réduire notre impact sur l’environnement, parler à nos fournisseurs est l’une des façons dont nous voulons le faire.
En tant que petite entreprise, nous sommes très conscients que nous n’avons pas le pouvoir d’achat des grandes entreprises, mais nous voulons nous assurer que nous faisons tout ce que nous pouvons pour réduire au minimum notre impact sur cette planète. A ce titre, je voudrais vous poser les questions suivantes:
- Quelle est votre politique d’emballage des caisses utilisées pour la livraison? Emballez-vous des fruits et légumes en vrac sans sacs en plastique, est-ce quelque chose que vous seriez prêt à envisager?
- Le poisson – Est-ce que les poissons au comptoir sont de source durable – nos océans sont surexploités et le chalutage de fond est une pratique courante. Nous achetons du poisson pour au moins 2 repas par semaine et nous aimerions savoir quel poisson de la gamme est pêché de manière durable.
- Viande – quelles sont les politiques de bien-être de Super U pour la viande? Est-ce que toute votre viande vient de France? Quelles sont vos normes de bien-être que les fournisseurs doivent respecter?
- Fruits et Légumes – c’est déjà très bienfait car la provenance est toujours clairement étiqueté, est-ce quelque chose qui va continuer? Quels types de sacs sont fournis en magasin pour que les clients puissent emballer des articles en vrac? Sont-ils des sacs en papier recyclables?
- Proposez-vous des produits «en-vrac»? Par exemple, la lessive, les produits de nettoyage, les produits secs, les huiles, etc. C’est quelque chose que nous aimerions vraiment voir en magasin et que nous aimerions explorer davantage.
- Plastique à usage unique – fournissez-vous des alternatives au plastique à usage unique pour vos produits de marque? Peut-être des sacs en papier, des bouteilles en verre ou des contenants recyclables. Existe-t-il une option pour que certains articles soient «en destinataire» comme vous le faites actuellement avec les bouteilles de gaz Soda Stream?
S’il y a des initiatives que Super U prend à l’échelle nationale pour réduire notre impact sur l’environnement, pouvez-vous m’en informer? Les points ci-dessus sont d’un intérêt particulier, mais je serais heureux de recevoir toute réflexion que vous pourriez avoir sur la manière dont nous pouvons mieux travailler ensemble en tant qu’entreprises pour aller plus loin.
Merci, Clare Truphet, Alpine Manager
Hello,
I hope you are well and the winter preparations are progressing for you.
We (Fish & Pips) have been a customer of Super U for over 10 years, using the Bourg St Maurice and Moutiers shops as well as more recently your delivery service. As winter approaches, we are conducting a full audit of our food suppliers to determine where we need to make changes in order to meet our environmental goals for next year. We work with a local One Tree at a Time organization (https://onetreeatatime.fr/) which helps us reduce our impact on the environment, talking to our suppliers is one of the ways we want to do this.
As a small business, we are very aware that we do not have the purchasing power of large companies, but we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to minimize our impact on this planet. As such, I would like to ask you the following questions:
- What is your packing policy for the boxes used for delivery? Do you pack fruits and vegetables in bulk without plastic bags, is that something you would be willing to consider?
- The Fish – Are the counter fish sustainably sourced – our oceans are overfished and bottom trawling is common practice. We buy fish for at least 2 meals a week and would like to know which fish in the range is caught in a sustainable manner.
- Meat – what are Super U’s welfare policies for meat? Does all your meat come from France? What are your welfare standards that suppliers must meet?
- Fruits and Vegetables – this is already very beneficial because the provenance is still clearly labeled, is this something that will continue? What types of bags are provided in store for customers to pack in bulk? Are they recyclable paper bags?
- Do you offer “bulk” products? For example, laundry, cleaning products, dry products, oils, etc. It’s something we would really love to see in store and explore more.
- Single-use plastic – do you provide alternatives to single-use plastic for your branded products? Maybe paper bags, glass bottles or recyclable containers. Is there an option for certain items to be “inbound” as you currently do with Soda Stream gas cylinders?
If there are any initiatives that Super U is taking nationwide to reduce our impact on the environment, can you let me know? The above points are of particular interest, but I would be happy to receive any thoughts you may have on how we can better work together as companies to go further.
Thanks, Clare Truphet, Alpine Manager
