Puregold steps up sustainability efforts

Puregold Price Club is going all out in pursuing its sustainability strategy, incorporating eco-friendly practices across key aspects of its business.

Its overarching goals are to minimize pollution, as well as conserve and preserve water resources.

“Puregold’s intent is to be a mindful company that recycles, reuses and conserve whatever resources are available,” Puregold president Vincent Co says.

The projects and programs aligned with these are aimed not only at substantially cutting Puregold’s carbon footprint, but also at encouraging its customers all over the country to embrace environmentally responsible practices.

“We are very much invested in doing business sustainably and in helping ensure that the younger generation can look forward to a better future,” Vincent adds.

Plastic-free initiative 

Just last week, Puregold launched its “Walastik Mondays” (Walang Plastik).

Every Monday, all Puregold stores in the National Capital Region implement a “no-plastic” policy. Customers are enjoined to bring their reusable bags or boxes when they shop. In return, customers—particularly Perks and Tindahan ni Aling Puring members– get P1 cashback for every eco bag used for a maximum of five eco bags per transaction.

With this program, Puregold aims to substantially cut the use of plastic bags in its stores and to encourage its customers, especially those who buy in bulk, to make changes in their practices to achieve this goal.

In 2021, Puregold’s purchase of single-use plastic bags was already down by 40 percent. For this year, Puregold aims to cut it by another 30 percent.

“It may be impossible to completely eliminate plastic from the retail industry, but we can take steps to reduce the amount we are using,” says Vincent.

More than 50 percent of Puregold customers are sari-sari store owners, which are currently among the biggest users of single-use plastics and plastic products. Through its Tindahan ni Aling Puring program, Puregold is doing its best to educate sari-sari store owners on the importance of reducing the use of plastics and lessening plastic waste.

Various studies show that the Philippines is among the largest contributors to plastic pollution in the world. With the lack of proper plastic disposal system in the country, a big portion of plastics that Filipinos use ends up in the ocean.

Plastic pollution adversely adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat.

“Puregold’s other concern is that the production of single-use plastics requires a lot of energy and resources,” says Vincent.

According to Vincent, it is important for everyone in the retail industry to be mindful of the packaging they use, how they are made and disposed of without harming the environment.

Other initiatives

Puregold is also reviving soon its recycling initiatives, which were started in 2019 but were disrupted by the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We will, once again, encourage our customers to exchange their recyclable wastes for essential grocery items in designated Puregold stores,” says Vincent.

Puregold is also invested in efforts to reduce its energy consumption. All of its stores are converting to 100-percent LED for their main lighting.

LED (light-emitting diode) lighting, according to studies, uses an average of 40 percent less power than fluorescents and 80 percent less than incandescent to produce the same amount of light. Its use doesn’t only mean savings for the user but also a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Also, Puregold has 135 wastewater facilities that are compliant with government regulations. It is also into rainwater catchment, gray water re-use and other water savings and mitigating measures to lessen the company’s impact on the country’s water resources.

Puregold hopes that its rainwater catchment initiative can be of help to overall efforts to improve the country’s harvest of rainwater. Currently, the Philippines harvests only about 6 percent of the rainwater it gets yearly, compared to India’s 60 percent.

On top of all these, Puregold says the migration of its business logistics requirements to optimum cross-dock operations efficiency is in a position to reduce its carbon emission by about 36 percent.

ADVT.