Alimentation Couche-Tard

Policy:Adopted a retailer safer chemicals policy

0 out of 23.5 points

Alimentation Couche-Tard (in North America, primarily including subsidiaries Circle K and Couche-Tarde) has no public written safer chemicals policy and has not set public quantifiable goals for reducing and eliminating chemicals of high concern (CHCs). The company does not have a publicly available beyond restricted substance list (BRSL), manufacturing restricted substance list (MRSL), or beyond restricted material list (BRML) for plastics of environmental health concern (PEHCs).

In its 2020 Annual Information Form, issued June 29, 2020, the company stated it had chosen four areas for its sustainability approach, one of which was “Foodservice Packaging.” The 2020 Sustainability Report, issued in September 2020, describes the packaging goals as follows: “By 2030, our aspiration is for 100% of our packaging to be recyclable or reusable and aim to increase sustainable packaging in our foodservice and private brand consumable products by 25% by 2025 from FY20.” It is unclear if “sustainable” packaging refers only to recyclability or reusability. We urge the company to establish a strong beyond restricted substance list (BRSL) for CHCs in its food packaging.

Alimentation Couche-Tard noted in its 2019 Sustainability Report that the company made commitments to address CHCs in car wash detergents and conditioning chemicals by moving to safer versions. According to staff statements in December 2020, this move to Eco Labeled car wash chemicals has only happened in European locations, not North American locations, so no credit can be awarded. Additionally, the company stated in its 2020 sustainability report that in the Quebec West region, in FY2019 and FY2020, water reclaim systems were installed at 6 carwash locations that apparently resulted in a 33% reduction in chemical use. However, it is not clear whether the chemicals whose usage was reduced were CHCs or whether any CHCs replaced them, so no points are awarded here. The company also stated in December 2020 that “We work to minimize the use of harmful chemicals in all our markets,” but did not provide further details.

In its 2020 Sustainability Report, the company states it has replaced plastic straws for one drink served in Quebec locations, encourages customers and employees to bring reusable cups and mugs, and is looking into replacing plastics with renewable materials and switching to materials that are more recyclable. Further, the Performance Summary page on the website currently states that in the US South Atlantic region, the company has “switched to … eco-friendly gloves.” However, the company does not specifically say that it plans to restrict any particular PEHC and at least one subsidiary appears to serve drinks in polystyrene foam cups.

Glossary of Terms

Oversight: Established management responsibilities and incentives

0 out of 5 points

Alimentation Couche-Tard has not assigned senior management responsibility for a company safer chemicals policy (because the company has no public written safer chemicals policy).

Glossary of Terms

Accountability: Ensures supply chain accountability

0 out of 15 points

Alimentation Couche-Tard has not made any discernible effort to assess supplier conformance with a company safer chemicals policy, BRSL, MRSL, or BRML (because the company has no public written safer chemicals policy, BRSL, MRSL, or BRML).

Glossary of Terms

Disclosure: Requires suppliers to report use of chemicals in products to retailer

0 out of 17.5 points

Alimentation Couche-Tard has not taken any discernible action on suppliers disclosing ingredients to the retailer going beyond regulatory compliance.

Glossary of Terms

Action: Reduced or eliminated chemicals of high concern (CHCs) or plastics of environmental health concern (PEHCs) within the last three years

0 out of 26 points

Alimentation Couche-Tard has not publicly documented progress on reducing chemicals of high concern (CHCs) or plastics of environmental health concern (PEHC) beyond regulatory compliance in the last three years.

As noted above, the information in the company’s 2019 Sustainability Report indicates that many stores are addressing certain chemicals of concern by using car wash detergents and conditioning chemicals that are certified to standards restricting some hazardous chemicals, but this effort has only been implemented in Europe, not also in North America. Additionally, the company stated in its 2020 sustainability report that in the Quebec West region, in FY2019 and FY2020, water reclaim systems were installed at 6 carwash locations that apparently resulted in a 33% reduction in chemical usage. However, it is not clear whether the chemicals whose usage was reduced were CHCs to begin with or whether any CHCs replaced them, so no points are awarded here. The company also stated in December 2020 that “We work to minimize the use of harmful chemicals in all our markets” but did not provide specific examples of CHCs actually reduced.

Glossary of Terms

Transparency: Demonstrates a commitment to transparency and public disclosure

0 out of 20 points

Alimentation Couche-Tard has no public safer chemicals policy, beyond restricted substance list (BRSL), manufacturing restricted substance list (MRSL), or beyond restricted material list (BRML) and has not committed to disclosing any of those items in 2021 after the publication of the report card.

Alimentation Couche-Tard does not appear to encourage or require suppliers to publicly disclose ingredients on product packaging going beyond regulatory compliance. The company does not sell products online.

Glossary of Terms

Chemical Footprint: Evaluates its chemical footprint

0 out of 7.5 points

Alimentation Couche-Tard has not made any discernible progress on measuring its chemical footprint via the Chemical Footprint Project.

Glossary of Terms

Third-party Standards: Promotes credible third-party standards for safer products

0 out of 8.5 points

Alimentation Couche-Tard has not shown discernible progress on credible third-party safer chemicals standards going beyond regulatory compliance. Alimentation Couche-Tard uses detergents and conditioning chemicals certified to eco-label requirements, including the Nordic Eco-label Swan environmental standards, only in its EU locations (not its North American locations), so no points are currently awarded.

Glossary of Terms