Rite Aid shares 2020 CSR Report
Rite Aid is sharing its second-annual report on its corporate social responsibility efforts. The Camo Hill, Pa.-based retailer said the report showcases its progress on environmental, social and governance efforts while highlighting its focus on the health and well-being of its customers, employees and communities served.
Among the achievements in the report was Rite Aid's recognition from the annual "Who's Minding the Store" retailer report card as the leading drug chain addressing and removing harmful chemicals from the products it sells.
"After laying out our vision to evolve our business from a traditional retail drug store chain to a modern, pharmacy-first destination for whole-being health, we are committed more than ever to sustainable ESG initiatives that will help transform our role in the health care sector," said Jim Peters, Rite Aid COO. "To fulfill our mission of supporting the holistic health needs of the communities we serve, we have shifted our merchandise assortment to ensure clean, safe product ingredients, while also reducing our environmental footprint. I'm especially proud that Rite Aid has earned recognition for addressing and removing harmful chemicals from the products we sell."
Rite Aid's past fiscal year has seen the retailer make progress in terms of environmental sustainability, with investments around energy and fleet fuel efficiency, as well as waste reduction. On the health-and-wellness side, the company has pushed efforts to manage health issues, expanded the role of its pharmacists and promoted diverse and inclusive workspace from the c-suite down.
On its community commitment efforts, the report highlights Rite Aid's work to encourage food and beverage suppliers to reduce pollinator-toxic pesticides in the supply chain and grow their organic offerings, adding almost 150 new organic food items in 2019. The company also worked to make pharmacists whole-health advocates, freeing up pharmacists' time while expanding telehealth efforts to offer patients more access to their care team, among other efforts. Rite Aid said it has raised health issue awareness, with a focus on e-cigarettes and vaping, a category that it completely removed from stores, and raised the age to purchase tobacco from its stores to 21. Opioid education and awareness, as well as the promotion of proper medication disposal also was a factor. Among its employees, Rite Aid said that it has worked to increase female management representation across every business category in the past year.
On environmental issues and wast reduction, Rite Aid has been focused on installing LED lighting in more stores, logging a 33% improvement in annual electric consumption and an 8% increase of in-store installations compared to the prior year. It has increased its partnership with 3 Phases Renewables to power some of its Southern California stores on 50% renewable power. With its fleet of trucks, Rite Aid installed aerodynamic skirts on its fleet of trailers services its distribution centers, which is expected to improve fuel economy by 4% Additionally, Rite Aid managed to divert more than 51,000 tons of recyclable material from landfills via ongoing recycling efforts.
To read the full report, click here.