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OpinionLetters

Letters | Hong Kong supermarkets still failing to meet plastic-free goals

  • A report by Greenpeace East Asia reveals that neither of Hong Kong’s two supermarket giants has made holistic plastic-free plans
  • As market leaders, the companies should meet corporate responsibilities and do away with unnecessary plastic packaging

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Vegetables individually wrapped in plastic at a supermarket in Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP
Letters
A recent ranking report from Greenpeace East Asia found that Dairy Farm, the parent company of Hong Kong’s largest supermarket chain, Wellcome, has barely implemented substantial or innovative plastic-free policies, leave alone increased transparency regarding whether it has gone plastic-free. On the other hand, while AS Watson, the parent company of ParknShop, is taking steps to execute certain plastic-free measures, it could take the lead in adopting a comprehensive policy, such as by setting a clear timetable for achieving bigger goals of using less plastic.
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Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a significant amount of disposable plastics has been created because people have to protect themselves. But, even at a time like this, people are finding alternative ways to go plastic-free. Examples would be food and daily necessities sold “naked”. Yet, our report revealed that holistic, concrete plastic-free plans are not in place at the two supermarket giants. We hope both market leaders can meet their corporate responsibilities, and take the lead to do away with unnecessary plastic packaging.

The grading method used for this ranking report is the same as the one Greenpeace uses to gauge supermarkets in cities across the world. The supermarket chains were assessed on four aspects, namely “plastic-free policies”, “plastic-reducing measures”, “initiatives and innovations”, and “information transparency”. We collected data from the management teams of the supermarkets and utilised related public information, as available on their official websites, annual reports and media reports, to compute the final scores for each retailer. Out of a perfect score of 100, a pass is 50. In our report, Dairy Farm had a score of 15.5, and AS Watson, 27.1.

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The results make it clear that supermarkets may have relied on false solutions to tackle the plastics problem. A case in point would be Dairy Farm reducing the weight of several plastic items instead of getting rid of plastic items when wrapping their products. It is expected that Dairy Farm will make more progress towards going plastic-free and start implementing innovative plans, such as setting up plastic-free refill stations, offering plastic-free discounts and increasing transparency on its plastic usage.

On the other hand, AS Watson should draw up clear plastic-free guidelines, work on a principle of reusability, offer a variety of plastic-free shopping options and, last but not least, create a road map for reaching its plastic-free targets.

Hall Sion Chan, campaigner, Greenpeace East Asia

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