Metro, Sobeys among companies called out for not doing enough to reduce harmful chemicals

Some major namesin Canadian retail, including Metro, Sobeys and the parent company of Tim Hortons, have received a failing grade in one environmental group'sreport card ranking businesseson their commitment to reduce certain chemicals and plastics in the products and packaging they carry.

Restaurant Brands International (which includes Tim Hortons), Metro, Sobeys and AlimentationCouche-Tard(which includes Circle K and Couche-Tard) all received a grade of F on a "retailer report card" compiled by the advocacygroup Toxic-Free Future and contributed to by various environmental organizations, including Environmental Defence Canada.

The report card, which was published last week,is the group's fifth annual evaluation examining chemical use by large U.S. and Canadian retailers.

It grades the companies on several criteria, including whether theyhave policies committingto using safer chemicals, a commitment to public disclosure and whether they have taken any action to reduce the specific chemicals that the group has identified as potentially harmful to health or the environment.

According to the report, companies with high grades have:

• Adopted specific goals andtimelines for reducing these substances.
• Compiled lists of chemicals and plastics they've committed to limiting.
• Worked with their suppliers to ensure adherence to their policies.
• Are transparent withcustomers and other stakeholders.

For instance, Apple, which led the 50 companies ranked, scored somepoints toward its A+ grade for replacingmethanol, xylene, cyclohexane, acetoneand methyl ethyl ketone in the cleaning products it uses during the manufacturing of its productswith safer alternatives, such as ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, glycerol and water.

It was also praised for setting a goal to phase out all plastics from its packaging by 2025.

Report urges reduction of bisphenols,phthalates

The report's authors sayretailers not managing their use of chemicalsrisk damage to theirreputations, and the report card is a wayto motivate them by comparing them against their peers.

"Retailers are increasingly phasing out entire classes of toxic chemicals," the report says.

It identifiesa series ofchemicals retailers should target,including:

• Bisphenols, which are used in plastics and receipt paper.The Canadian government declared Bisphenol A toxic in 2010, and some experts say its replacement,BisphenolS,may be just as bad or worse.
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also knownas PFASand sometimes called "forever chemicals"because they last long in the environment. They are common in food packaging and foundin everything from non-stick cookware tofirefighting foam.
• Ortho-phthalates, which are used to make PVC and are found inpersonal care productssuch as perfumes, nail polishand lotions as well as flooring, footwear andsports equipment.
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC, or vinyl) and expanded polystyrene foam, which the report's authors say include hazardous chemicals in their production.

Make policies public, authors say

The group that put together the report card wants companies to go beyond what is required by regulators and reduce their reliance on products and packaging that containwhat it calls chemicals of high concern substances that are persistent, bioaccumulative and potentially harmful to humans or the environment.

Itrecommends retailers:

• Adopt and make public policies on reducing, eliminating or substituting potentially harmful chemicals and plastics in products, packaging and the supply chain.
• Set clear,measurable goals.
• Demonstrate continuous progress in meeting those goals.

The report is largely positive in its assessment of the 50 companies it graded,toutingthe progress made over the last five years byabout 70 per cent of them,butit callsthe 12 companies that received F grades "laggards."

Metro was criticized as one of only four companies that the report says havemade "zero progress" in the last three years.

Indirect additives are trace amounts of substances that get into foodthrough packaging, storage or handling. Health Canada says it prohibits the sale of foodin packages "that may impart any substance to the contents which may be harmful to the consumer of the food," though in most cases, it's the responsibility of manufacturers and distributors to ensure the safety of the packaging.

In an email, Metro spokesperson Stephanie Bonk said the company "was unaware of this report and therefore cannotcomment," though she said the company had"taken note" of it and would look into it.

RBI, the parent company of Tim Hortons, faces similar criticism in the report.

"RBI has not publicly documented progress on reducing chemicals of high concern or plastics of environmental health concern going beyond regulatory compliance in the last three years," the report says.

However, the company getscredit for "restricting bisphenol A (BPA) in food-contact materials and for setting a goal to eliminate expanded polystyrene foam in all food packaging globally by 2021."

Tim Hortonsto update packaging by early 2022

A Tim Hortons spokesperson said that all its products and packaging meetHealth Canada and Canadian Food Inspection Agency standards and that the company hasstrict guidelines about food safety.

"We're always striving to do better and continuously review our policies on raw materials," the spokesperson said.

TimHortonssaid it has been working with Canadian suppliers over the past year to develop and test packaging free ofPFAS and is ahead of the industry standard in this regard.

"The updated packaging materials will be introduced at allTimHortonsrestaurants in Canada, with the goal to complete the transition by early 2022,"the spokesperson said.

The report also says "there is no indication that Sobeys is taking substantial action" to address indirect food additives, toxic chemicals or plastics.And the report says Alimentation Couche-Tard has made no obvious commitments to address similar issues.

The two companies did notreply to a request for comment.

Loblaws, which received a C grade,was the highest-rated Canadian company.