Tops, a Food Business within Central Retail, pioneers sustainability with the introduction of eco-friendly meat packaging for its chilled meat sections. This innovative approach prioritizes flavor, freshness, and safety, while utilizing premium materials derived from natural plants that biodegrade rapidly, replacing traditional plastics. Tops sets a precedent as the first in Thailand’s supermarket industry to adopt such packaging, in harmony with Central Retail’s Green & Sustainable initiative, committed to achieving carbon neutrality or Net Zero by 2050. This underscores Tops’ leadership in the retail food sector, driven by a forward-thinking ethos that places environmental and social well-being at the forefront, encouraging customers to contribute to sustainable development. The eco-friendly packaging is now available at all participating Tops and Tops Food Hall branches.
Stephane Coum, CEO of Central Retail’s Food Group, emphasizes Tops’ dedication to delivering exceptional shopping experiences while prioritizing sustainability. Integrating eco-friendly packaging solutions is a cornerstone of their environmentally conscious approach. They are excited to introduce pioneering sustainable packaging for pork and chicken products, crafted entirely from natural plant fibers that decompose within 45 days, effectively replacing conventional plastics. This represents a significant stride in sustainable innovation, aimed at reducing carbon emissions from production processes and engaging consumers in creating a more sustainable world. This initiative aligns with Central Retail’s vision to lead as a Green & Sustainable Retailer, advancing towards Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050.
This debut of innovative packaging marks a significant milestone as Thailand’s first supermarket to introduce eco-friendly packaging for meat products, promoting natural decomposition to mitigate environmental and societal impacts and reduce potential harm to wildlife from plastic pollution. Each unit of this packaging is estimated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 64 grams. Tops has commenced the transition to this new packaging for pork and chicken products across 14 items, available at all participating branches of Tops and Tops Food Hall. Plans are underway to extend this shift to beef and lamb products, and eventually to Tops Daily stores, with a goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 3 tons of CO2-equivalent by the end of 2024.
Additionally, Tops reaffirms its commitment to environmental sustainability throughout its supply chain. Since December of last year, Tops has embraced eco-friendly packaging innovations for fresh cherries, using materials crafted from agricultural by-products like rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, and water hyacinth, which biodegrade within 45 days. By switching to 100% recyclable clear PET plastic for packaging, Tops has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by over 11 tons of CO2-equivalent while ensuring food safety for its products.
Tops remains dedicated to expanding its use of environmentally friendly packaging across various product categories in the future. In 2024, the focus is on reducing carbon dioxide emissions through eco-friendly packaging for fresh cherries and meat products, aiming for a reduction of approximately 45 tons of CO2-equivalent.
