A Letter from Our Leaders
Customer-driven. People-powered. Community-engaged. Results-oriented. Our company’s values are central to everything we do at Empire, guiding every action we take to make today and tomorrow better for all Canadians.
As a leading Canadian grocery retailer, we take our growing and evolving sustainability commitments seriously. And we don’t just talk about them. We act.
This report is an update on the actions Empire continues to take to serve and nurture people—our customers, teammates, suppliers, and communities. It’s about working hard to do OurPartTM to help protect the planet. And it’s about our team’s drive to find and develop products that are good for everyone up and down our supply chains.
We’re growing our Own Brands offerings, which continue to combine excellent quality and value. We’re expanding our e-commerce business Voilà, giving customers more choice and control over how and where they shop. And our customers love all of the ways they are able to earn and redeem points on groceries and so much more with our loyalty program, Scene+.
Since the launch of Empire’s Climate Action Plan last year, the need to reduce emissions around the world has become more urgent. The UN has warned that the planet is at a “climate crossroads” in its latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. At Empire, we’re proud of the tangible progress we have made toward achieving clear, science-based targets that exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C pathway. This year, as part of our commitment to continuous improvement and transparency, we’re pleased to share our first report aligned with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) along with our Sustainable Business Report to provide more information about how we manage climate risk.
All sustainability efforts require collaboration. Empire continues to work closely with our supplier partners on climate action, sustainable and ethical sourcing, and a range of other issues that matter to our customers, investors, workforce, and stakeholders. This year we are launching the CDP Supply Chain program to empower our suppliers to elevate their sustainability practices. We’re continuing to collaborate with our communities too, investing close to $19M in fiscal 2023 to support Healthy Bodies and Healthy Minds.
Behind all this action and progress, you will find our biggest source of pride at Empire—our dedicated, diverse group of 131,000 teammates and our valued franchisee partners. They keep our business thriving and we are grateful for their passion and hard work. Being a sustainable company is good for people, for the planet, and for the health of our business, helping us advance our strategy and deliver results.
We are proud of the tremendous things we achieved through our Project Horizon strategy in the past three years. Our new strategic plan ties in the areas of sustainability and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, drawing on what we have learned by listening to our customers, teammates, and stakeholders.
While we’re making headway, there is still much more for us to do in the years ahead. As always, we welcome your feedback on our sustainability progress and suggestions on how we could work better together.
