LuLu Group, whose flagship hypermarket chain is one of the largest and fastest-growing retail chains in the MENA region, launched an ambitious ESG campaign, which will shape the way the group manages its response to environmental issues and sustainability, promotes social values such as diversity and inclusion in the workplace and manages employee relations through good governance of the workplace.
The carefully planned campaign is called GOAL — which is an acronym for Green, Oneness, Awareness, and Life — and was launched last October by Princess Haifa bint Faisal Al-Saud, chairperson of Zahra Breast Cancer Association. Lulu has also linked the purchase and use of its recyclable bags to raising funds for the association.
The GOAL campaign, which runs from October 2022 until September this year, will promote Lulu’s ESG targets. It will see the group enhance its programs that are already in place and execute new ones, which set new goals and initiatives that welcome public participation.
Twelve months of unique “green ideas” have been selected for implementation over the period of the campaign, each adding value to the group’s existing environmental and sustainability track record and also bringing new commitment to the initiative. These include the running of Lulu’s large warehouses using solar energy and giving customers the option of paper bags when shopping.
Other initiatives such as the Saudi Green Initiative and National Food Bank projects, a sustainable fashion campaign and a vegan promotion to explore alternative diets considered more gentle on the environment, will underscore the group’s “green” consciousness. There will also be a Green Office program to encourage employees to think environmentally.
Social goals will be addressed through campaigns such as a winter clothes collection drive and a cleanup initiative, which will see employees volunteer time and energy to help residents clean up wadis, parks and gardens as well as trash lying in the desert areas. Small businesses will get a platform to promote their products and services in-store, and a project will teach children crafts that will reuse and upcycle household waste, especially plastics.
Employee relations campaigns will include training, appreciation and recognition of employees. In the Kingdom, LuLu has a multinational workforce that has a strong diversity and inclusion component.
“As a group, we have always worked to create a clear pathway to our corporate ESG goals and are well-known for using the power of our size and the scale of our operations to make a meaningful difference to these areas that impact our community, ” said Shehim Muhammed, director of LuLu Group, Saudi Arabia.
“Through this 12-month campaign, we aim to add value and touch upon many different areas, which we believe will amplify and strengthen our contribution to ESG values. The campaigns are imaginative and designed to welcome customer and employee participation.”
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