| Small grocer, big impact: How one natural chain is making big moves in sustainability Jimbo's is proving that small grocery chains can lead the way in environmental stewardship—ditching plastic, cutting waste and innovating at scale. | ||
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| When it comes to sustainability in the natural and organic products industry, agriculture and CPG brands get most of the attention. We champion soil-stained farmers who reject chemicals and gain organic certification. Companies sourcing their lentils or sugarcane from regenerative operations spark widespread adoration. Grocery retailers? Is one parking lot-flanked box of cinderblocks packed with shelves, refrigerators, consumer packaged goods and cash registers much different from the one down the street? Many of us—hand raised—don't much think about the places where retailers and eco-consciousness intersect. But some grocery retailers, especially in the natural channel, invest heavily in sustainability—efforts that rarely go viral but make a meaningful impact. To get a handle on what some of the more progressive retailers are implementing to advance sustainability goals, I chatted with Jason Murrell, the perishables buyer at California grocery chain Jimbo's. Natural and organic retailers respect Jimbo's for its rich community involvement and the strict standards it uses to guide what products end up on shelves. But Jimbo's also takes environmental responsibility seriously, Murrell says. During our conversation, Murrell highlighted how the store recently elevated its sustainability coordinator role to director of sustainability. The move reflected the importance of green efforts to Jimbo's, raising the profile of the company's efforts across its four San Diego-area stores, with two more slated to open by 2027. Evaluating shrink and minimizing waste stand as ongoing goals. For example, rather than tossing food that's nearing its expiration date, Jimbo's invests time and resources into getting it to nonprofits serving food-insecure communities. "You'd think a (wealthy) community like Carlsbad, (where Jimbo's has a store) doesn't need it, but the organizations we partner with have had an insane impact on those less fortunate," Murrell says. Packaging, too, dwells at the heart of Jimbo's approach toward treading lightly. In 2008, Jimbo's banned plastic bags at checkout—few grocers had taken that step back in those long-ago days before Instagram and Uber. In 2019, Jimbo's became the first retailer on the West Coast to feature a plastic-free water aisle, a patch of real estate normally flooded with plastic. Water in the aisle comes in glass, aluminum, boxes—but not the stuff made from petroleum. A short film detailing the horrors of plastic waste always plays on a loop in the aisle, reinforcing the store's commitment. Samples from vendors? For most grocery retailers, ones that require refrigeration often come packed in Styrofoam. But Jimbo's forbids vendors to deliver samples in it. "We put our foot down," Murrell says. "There are alternatives, and we want to be part of the solution." | ||
