Carrefour climat

The first international edition of the “Great Climate Challenge for Carrefour Suppliers” has seen ten of the French retailer's suppliers rewarded for their actions to tackle global warming.

This week, on the eve of the COP21 climate talks in Paris, Carrefour brought the ten winners together in the French capital to highlight their projects, including ways to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions, protect biodiversity and develop ecologically responsible products.

The winners were honoured in their respective countries by expert juries composed of journalists and NGOs.

According to Carrefour, the challenge has enabled it to identify and promote projects that are in line with the retailer’s target to reduce CO2 emissions by 70 per cent by 2050.

“Carrefour continues to support its suppliers’ efforts to develop innovative and environmentally friendly products that meet its customers’ demands,” the company stated. “Supporting its partners is, along with the fight against waste and the promotion of biodiversity, the third pillar of Carrefour's CSR policy.

Carrefour’s efforts might help to put farming on the agenda in Paris. Lobbying group Slow Food has criticised the talks for failing to include the word ‘agriculture’ in its 54-page document on the negotiations, which it said risked relegating the discussion on food and climate to the margins of the talks.