ASDA

Supermarket and other department stores give shoppers a great choice of products and prices

JULY 2006 PLEDGE TO STOP SENDING WASTE TO LANDFILL

ASDA announced it will stop sending any waste produced by its 307 food stores to landfill sites.

It has also embarked on a complete review of its own label packaging to reduce the amount of household rubbish which shoppers throw away each year.

The groundbreaking commitment means that by 2010 everything the supermarket disposes of at the back of its stores will be recycled, reused or composted instead of being sent to landfill.

In addition, all of the products it sells (under the ASDA brand) will be redesigned over the next 18 months, with the aim of reducing the weight and volume of packaging it produces by at least ten per cent.

ASDA has already successfully redesigned all its salad bags reducing the thickness of the plastic by 15%, and removed an unnecessary cardboard sleeve on a selection of its ready meals.

The redesigned packaging is now set to be rolled out across dozens more food products in the coming months. 

David Cheesewright, chief operating officer at ASDA said: "We're determined to stop sending stuff from our stores to landfill sites. We also want to help our customers reduce the amount of rubbish they throw away each week."

ONGOING PLEDGE 2015

Operational and construction waste - ASDA will continue to work towards diverting 100% of our operations from landfill.

Food Waste - They’re aiming for a 4% cut in household food and drink waste from our sector by 2013, working with our competitors on the Courtauld 2 Commitments.

*absolute – means that even though we’re growing as a business, the total amount of waste we produce has gone down since 2005.

PLASTIC CARRIER BAGS

While plastic carrier bags use 70% less plastic than they did 20 years ago, they are still made from polyethylene (PE) which is derived from non-renewable oil and requires energy to manufacture.

Plastic bags are recyclable and are increasingly being recycled, but the majority still end up in landfill where they may take hundreds of years to break down. Worse still is bags, pop bottles and packaging that make it into the ocean. This is called ocean unfriendly plastic. But research is underway as to how to make such plastic ocean friendlier.

PLASTIC BAG LEVY 2015

Asda raised £145,000 in the first few months of Scotland's plastic bag levy, which it is now planning to donate to social enterprises and community projects across the country, the supermarket chain announced today.

Last October, Scotland followed the lead of Wales and Northern Ireland by requiring all retailers to charge five pence for single use carrier bags, in a bid to cut down on plastic waste and save resources.

Between 20 October and December, Asda said it raised £145,000, and according to BusinessGreen calculations, this is equal to 2.9 million bags being handed out.

Three months after the charge was introduced, Asda today confirmed it has now established Asda Community Capital, through which it will donate funds arising from the levy to Social Investment Scotland (SIS) and Foundation Scotland.

Through SIS, Asda will make up to £10,000 to £50,000 available as loans to third sector organisations that may otherwise struggle to raise finance. Interest will not be charged during the first year of investment and all subsequent interest will be reinvested to support more good causes.

In contrast, Foundation Scotland will use the other half of the funds to distribute small grants to community projects nominated by customers and employees.

"At Asda, we want the carrier bag charge to have long-term social - as well as environmental - benefits," said Kevin McBride, Asda senior director for Scotland. "By working with our partners Social Investment Scotland and Foundation Scotland, we have the opportunity to invest innovatively in our local communities, helping to grow the social enterprise sector and supporting local projects."

LANDFILL PLEDGE 2006

"We will recycle, reuse or compost all of the waste we produce, and will cut our packaging by at least ten per cent. It's a massive commitment that's set to have a huge impact on the environment.

We hope our competitors will follow our lead so that together we can help make landfill sites redundant." 

Last year ASDA opened four purpose-built recycling facilities at a cost of £32m in Lutterworth, Wakefield, Skelmersdale and Bedford enabling its fleet of delivery trucks to collect cardboard and plastic packaging from the back of stores.

As a result, it recovered and recycled 140,000 metric tonnes of cardboard (8% of the UK cardboard market) and 5,500 metric tonnes of plastic packaging from store waste. 

Hazardous wastes, including paint and fluorescent tubes are also segregated and collected, while waste meat and fish (animal by-product waste) is composted for use as a soil conditioner.

Even waste photographic chemicals are collected by ASDA to recover the precious metals contained in them such as silver.

Earlier this year the supermarket teamed up with children's TV character Bob the Builder to launch the ASDA Big Recycle, highlighting how customers can recycle cardboard packaging, glass bottles, tin cans, mobile phones, printer cartridges and old clothes. 

It also carried out environmental audits with more than 600 local schools encouraging pupils to consider how they can reduce waste and save energy in their schools by recycling paper and turning off classroom lights on sunny days.

WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?

TAKE APART FEBRUARY 2015 - OCEAN PLASTIC WASTE COULD DOUBLE IN A DECADE

hink the ocean plastic pollution problem is bad? It’s far more extensive than was thought, and it’s about to get worse, according to a new study published Thursday in the journal Science.

“The results are staggering,” said report coauthor Kara Lavender Law, a research professor at the Massachusetts-based Sea Education Association. “Our analysis shows that by 2025 the amount of plastic waste available to enter the oceans doubles.”

The report examines so-called mismanaged plastic—such things as plastic water bottles and food wrappers that people carelessly discard that get washed into the ocean. Researchers used data from the World Bank to calculate that between 10.5 billion and 28 billion tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010 from people living within 31 miles of the coastline. That year, the world generated a total of 600 billion tons of plastic waste.

The scientists compiled a list of the top waste-generating countries. Most of the plastic trash comes from China, India, and other countries experiencing rapid economic growth. “Their consumption is rapidly accelerating, but the infrastructure hasn’t caught up yet,” said Law.

Developed nations such as the United States have good waste management systems. The problem? “We produce so much trash per person that even the small amount that leaks out adds up to a huge number, based on the number of people living near the coast,” Law said. 

The researchers recommend that high-income countries reduce their waste in general and reduce plastic where it’s not necessary. In other words, use reusable coffee mugs instead of to-go cups, replace plastic bags with a lunch box, and avoid disposable packing supplies. “Our daily personal choices are contributing to this plastic waste problem,” Law said.

“This is a problem we can solve,” she added. “We’ve identified a major source—this is waste, so there are systems to capture it.”

The scientists now want to create accurate estimates of other ocean plastic pollution, such as trash produced by natural disasters and fishing gear.

A continuing question is where all the trash is going. Law said the volume of ocean plastic estimated in the new report is 20 to 2,000 times larger than the projections scientists previously made from observations on the ocean’s surface.

“There is a whole lot of trash in the ocean we can’t account for,” she said. “Has it broken down into microscopic bits? Is it washing ashore? Or is it on the seafloor?”

The most abundant form of plastic is what’s known as microplastic—fingernail-size pieces that can be eaten by seals, dolphins, and other marine life. Plastic also acts as a sponge for PCBs, DDT, and other toxins.

Scientists are still trying to figure out what happens to the creatures that consume those chemical-ridden bits of plastic. “Does it make it up the food web to food supply?” Law said. “It’s a rising concern, and people are actively researching that effect to see what the consequences are.” 

TAKE APART FEBRUARY 2015 - PLASTIC POLLUTION ENDANGERED ANIMALS SHOCKING DEATH TOLL

Tens of thousands of individual animals from hundreds of marine species—including every kind of sea turtle and around half of marine mammals—have encountered plastic, glass, and other garbage in the ocean, according to a new study.

Often the encounters are fatal. And they may be helping to push some beleaguered species toward extinction in the wild.

Those are some of the findings in the most comprehensive look at the effects of debris on marine wildlife since 1997. Coauthors Sarah Gall and Richard Thompson, marine biologists at Plymouth University in the United Kingdom, looked in 340 different publications for reports about animal encounters with marine trash. They found that 693 species of marine animals had some sort of interaction with human-made debris, with 17 percent of them listed with some degree of vulnerability to extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

Sometimes these encounters involved glass, metal, or paper. But plastic surged past those materials as a hazard to ocean wildlife, turning up in almost 92 percent of animal-meets-marine debris reports, according to the study, published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin,

here were a total of 44,006 incidents of individual animals across 395 species that had eaten plastic bits or been tangled in plastic rope or netting. Around 80 percent of the time, these encounters injured or killed the animal.

There were reports of 138 hawksbill turtles, 73 Kemp’s Ridley turtles, and 62 leatherback sea turtles tangled in plastic. All three are listed as critically endangered—one step below extinct in the wild—on the IUCN Red List.

Marine mammals as a group proved especially vulnerable to marine plastic debris, with 30,896 of the reports involving these animals tangled in ropes or netting. They included 215 Hawaiian monk seals, a critically endangered species, and 38 endangered northern right whales, as well as 3,835 northern fur seals and 3,587 California sea lions.

Among seabirds, Gall and Thompson found 174 records of individual birds from more than 150 species being tangled in or eating plastic. They included 3,444 northern fulmars 1,674 Atlantic puffins, 971 Laysan albatross, and 895 greater shearwaters.

As shocking as these numbers are, the scope of the problem may be much greater.

The researchers stressed that their findings were “an underestimate of the impacts of marine debris” on marine animals.

They noted, however, that least we’re past denying the problem.

“There is wide recognition that marine debris does not belong, nor does it need to be, in the marine environment,” they wrote. “Finding effective solutions requires a holistic approach,” from cleaning up what’s already out there to changing the chemical makeup of plastics to be less toxic and lasting in the ocean.

ASDA HISTORY

ASDA was founded in 1965 by a group of farmers from Yorkshire. The name is a contraction of Asquith Dairies. The company went through a troubled period in the early 1990s, but was then revived under the leadership of Archie Norman, who later became a front bench Conservative MP. He was chairman of the company during the period 1996–99.

ASDA Supercentre Edinburgh

ASDA, which then owned 229 stores, was purchased by  of the United States, on July 26, 1999. Following the take over by Wal-Mart, several "Asda–Wal*Mart Supercentres" have been opened, creating some of the largest hypermarkets in the United Kingdom. The first of these stores opened at Cribbs Causeway, near Bristol, in June 2000. At first, it was criticised for its scale and condemned as an eye-sore, but the format has now become extremely popular. In November 2004 a refurbishment of the hypermarket was completed, addressing some of the complaints. In 2005, amid reported concerns within Wal-Mart about a slight slippage in market share, partially due to a resurgent Sainsbury's, ASDA's chief executive, Tony de Nunzio, was replaced by Andy Bond.

In October 2004 ASDA launched a new format called 'Asda Living'. This is the company's first 'general merchandise' store, containing all its non-food ranges including clothing, home electronics, toys, homewares, health and beauty products. The first store with this format opened in Walsall, West Midlands in October 2004, and at the time of writing has been followed by three further stores in Cortonwood (Barnsley), Altrincham and Byker (Newcastle-upon-Tyne). A fifth has now opened in Thurrock, Essex. Tesco is also trialling a similar format, "Homeplus", in Denton, Greater Manchester. Asda has also opened a number of stores containing its George range only in several city centres.

ASDA are currently expanding their range of services to include Financial Services sold in store and at www.asda.com. Products currently sold are Car, Home, Travel, Life and Pet Insurance, Child Trust Funds and Credit Cards.

Unlike Tesco and Sainsbury's, ASDA does not operate convenience stores, a position it shares with the fourth major British supermarket chain Morrisons.

MARKETING

ASDA is known for two famous marketing campaigns. In the "ASDA price" campaign, customers tap their trouser pockets, producing a 'chinking' sound as the coins that (supposedly) Asda's low prices have left in their pockets knock together. In the smiley face "rollback" campaign also used in Wal-Mart advertisements, a CGI smiley face bounces from price tag to price tag, knocking them down as customers watch. The focus of these campaigns is to portray ASDA as the most affordable supermarket in the country, a claim that is often refuted by competitors, especially Tesco.

However, for the past eight years, independent surveys have found ASDA's claim to be justified. In August 2005 following a complaint from Tesco about ASDA's claim to be "officially Britain's lowest priced supermarket", the Advertising Standards Agency upheld this complaint as the Grocer Magazine survey that these claims were based on were limited and unrepresentative, and the survey did not study low-cost supermarkets such as Aldi. Sharon Osbourne has recently been selected to be part of a new marketing campaign by ASDA. Sharon Osbourne Has now been dropped by the supermarket chain (December 2005)

ASDA has recently been forced to drop its claim as being the number one lowest price food retailer in the UK after being involved in a spat with the UK's number one by market share, TESCO. The ruling of the ASA said that ASDA's information was not transparent enough nor was it a true and reflective representation of the entire market, with several discount retailers being conveniently 'forgotten'.

It has also lost its claim that since 2003 it maintains an award statement on its corporate notepaper that it is the best company to work for in the UK, among the top 100 UK companies as awarded by the Financial Times.

A search on the Sunday Times website shows that ASDA has dropped off the page and now appears nowhere due to recent shake-ups in management, pruning of staff with some 1,000 job losses and more to come in the Gwent area and possibly more at their Midlands region distribution centres in February 2006.

The company has come under intense and prolific attack by its employee's of late (called colleagues by ASDA) for the underhand and draconian treatment both in stores and in depots across the country. A recent posting on the GMB Union website heralded the attempt to get TESCO to honour the 20% Christmas staff discount which ASDA dropped for reasons of 'operational profit protection', this resulted in a humiliating about-turn, however the damage has been done, and with that, less than 40% of its staff actually shop in-store, instead choosing cheaper retailers, like TESCO, Sainsbury's and the heavy, minimal brand retailers ALDI (UK) Ltd and LIDL Group. ASDA has been described by colleagues in postings to the GMB website as being the worst of all UK employers and the attacks are relentless, repeated and vitriolic in their nature and tone.

Its US operation has come under scathing attack as to its treatment of its workforce by the release of a movie by a prominent US Hollywood producer Robert Greenwald, this parodies the companies claims that it is an employee friendly company, ethically minded and works for and not against local communities.

ASDA ONLINE

ASDA lauched its online retailer service in 1998 but was somewhat more cautious about expanding it than Tesco or Sainsbury's. It uses the store based model rather than servicing internet customers direct from its depots. In May 2005 it announced a major expansion of the service which will increase coverage from 30% of the UK population to 60%.

GEORGE LABEL

ASDA has its own range of clothing known as George. This is marketed as being quality fashionable clothing at affordable prices. Wal-Mart also sells the George brand in Germany, United States, Canada and South Korea. Recently a trial has begun of a standalone George format on the high street, which is expected to be expanded nationwide if it is a succes. The George label is named after George Davies, founder of Next, who went on to set up the Per Una clothing business for Marks & Spencer.

Asda cuts 1400 managers in bid to stay number 2 grocer - July 6, 2005

Asda supermarket group is to cut 1,400 managers in a move to slash the red ink and boost its profitability after losing market share.  Chief executive Andy Bond said the savings generated by the cutbacks would be ploughed back into improving customer service on the shop floor.

Announcing the losses yesterday in London, Mr Bond, who took over as chief executive three months ago, insisted Asda was not "a retail straggler", but added: "I'm simply not satisfied with this year's average performance. Our natural home is outperformance."  He outlined a strategy based on "five key building blocks" - from simplifying internal procedures to cutting queues - designed to kick-start growth and deliver promised results in 12-18 months.

The 279 store chain also revealed it had re-engaged two former senior executives. Asda is part of the giant US Wal-Mart empire.  It has been losing market share to Tesco and Sainsbury's in recent months.

Analysts believe the Leeds-based group is on the brink of losing its position as Britain's No 2 grocer, when it overtook Sainsbury's in 2003.  Wal-Mart admitted in May that Asda was suffering in the fiercely competitive British supermarket business and described the store's recent profits as "below plan".

Many retailers are feeling the squeeze as shoppers have reigned in spending in response to higher interest rates and the stalled housing market.  Accordingly, Bond is urging the Bank of England's monetary policy committee to cut the cost of borrowing at its meeting this week. 

About 200 of the jobs being cut are at Asda's head office in Leeds and the head office of its George fashion brand in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. The cuts equate to 1 in 10 of headquarters staff and those affected will leave "in the coming days".  The other 1,200 jobs affected are junior managerial positions in the stores. Mr Bond said the cuts were "very unfortunate for the individuals but important and right for Asda and its customers". The savings would be invested in "frontline customer service".

Bond's five-point strategy focuses on simplicity, prices, cost-cutting, differentiation and improving basic in-store housekeeping.  The chief executive said Asda had become "slightly bureaucratic of late". He promised to keep prices low: "I will make an unequivocal commitment that we will always be the lowest-priced retailer in the UK, whatever that takes."  He said he intends to hammer down costs, run more in-store events and focus on basics, such as shorter queues and filling shelves.

Bond denied the restructuring was a reaction to the recent lower growth and described suggestions that Asda had run out of growth opportunities as "absolute rubbish".  He insisted there was considerable potential in financial services, home shopping and standalone - George and non-food Asda Living stores. The chain is also testing smaller high street outlets.

The chief executive has changed his senior management team, installing David Cheesewright as his deputy and Andy Clark as retail director. Mr Cheesewright left Asda last year to head Wal-Mart Canada, while Mr Clark returns after three years working for Matalan and Iceland. Trading director Angela Spindler is to be customer and strategy director.

Supermarkets have developed over the years to become a driving force on the way that food is grown, sorted and packaged. A number of supermarket and department stores chains produce their own brands. They also either sell, or give away plastic carrier bags that are designed for single use. In the old days these would have been paper, a much more sustainable product and also biodegradable.........

ASDA CONTACTS SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

Eastbourne

Asda Superstore
The Crumbles

Pevensey Bay Road, Eastbourne, BN23 6JH

Tel: 01323 470014 Manager: Darren Evans

Hailsham

Asda Supermarket
3 The Quintins

North Street, Hailsham, BN27 1DP

Tel: 01323 534500 Manager: Katie Reed

St Leonards on Sea

Asda Superstore
Battle Road

St. Leonards on Sea, TN37 7AA

Tel: 01424 857420 Manager: Darren King

Brighton Marina

Asda Superstore
Brighton Marina

Brighton, BN2 5UT

Tel: 01273 606611 Manager: Mike Carty

Brighton Hollingbury

Asda Superstore
Unit 1 Crowhurst Road, off Carden Avenue

Brighton, BN1 8AS

Tel: 01273 541166 Manager: Martyn Gallon

6. Tunbridge Wells

Asda Superstore

Longfield Road

Tunbridge Wells, TN2 3EY

Tel: 01892 794200 Manager: Sean Clubb

Lancing

Asda Supermarket
South Street, Lancing

Brighton, BN15 8AG

Tel: 01903 855220 Manager: Phillip Read

Crawley

Asda Superstore
Pegler Way

Crawley, RH11 7AH

Tel: 01293 663400 Manager: Phil Derbyshire

Kingshill

Asda Superstore

1 Alexander Grove

Kingshill, ME19 4SZ

Tel: 01732 229000 Manager: Matt Featherstone

Ferring

Asda Superstore
Littlehampton Road

Ferring, BN12 6PN

Tel: 01903 540100 Manager: Steve Taylor

ASDA LINKS

SUPERMARKET and RESTAURANT LINKS :

Aldi  - Discount supermarket chain Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands and the USA.  http://www.aldi.com

Aldi (UK) (discount supermarket chain)  This UK site includes details of current weekly special offers (with an option to subscribe to a free email newsletter), store locations and new additions to the range of regular products.

Alldays (UK convenience store chain) http://www.alldays.co.uk

Asda (UK supermarket chain)  This UK supermarket chain was originally established by Associated Dairies, hence the name, but recently taken over by Wal-Mart. 

Auchan (hypermarket chain) This hypermarket chain is based in France but also has a few stores in other countries, including the USA. 

Big W (UK hypermarket chain)  Part of Woolworths, with similar store layout and range of good to the US KMart, Pamida, ShopKo, Wal-Mart, etc. 

Boots or Boots (UK retail chain)  Originally a chemists, Boots now also sell a wide range of goods. http://www.boots.co.uk

British Home Stores (BHS) (UK department store chain)

Budgens (UK supermarket chain)

Burger King (UK)  -  Includes a restaurant locator current special offers.

Carrefour (supermarket chain)  This supermarket chain is based in France but also has a large number of stores in several other European countries and other parts of the world. http://www.alldays.co.uk

Co-Op Stores (UK) (UK retail chain)  This site covers the UK Co-op's supermarkets and other shops. There are separate Co-op organisations in some other European countries.

CostCo (UK division of the US membership warehouse retail chain)

Debenhams or Debenhams (UK department store chain) http://www.debenhams.co.uk

Farmfoods (UK supermarket chain)  This chain sells mainly but by no means exclusively frozen food.

Iceland (UK supermarket chain) http://www.iceland.co.uk

Harry Ramsden's Fish And Chips  Includes details of menu items and locations.

John Lewis Partnership (UK department store chain)  http://www.johnlewis.co.uk

Kaufhof (German department store chain)

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) (UK)  This site includes details of menu items. 

Kwik Save (UK supermarket chain)  A few years ago the Kwik Save chain was purchased by Somerfield.

Lidl (Germany) (European deep discount supermarket chain)

Lidl (UK) (European deep discount supermarket chain)  Includes details of store locations, weekly specials, price reductions and a facility to subscribe to a weekly specials email newsletter.

Littlewoods (UK department store chain) http://www.littlewoods.com

Londis (UK supermarket chain)  http://www.londis.co.uk

Makro (UK hypermarket chain)  This chain is part of the German Metro group, a "cash and carry" for trade customers only. However, in practice it is very nearly a normal shop at normal proces.

Marks And Spencer (UK department store chain)

McDonald's (UK)  -  Fast food chain  http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk

Migros (Swiss supermarket/hypermarket chain)

Morrisons or Morrisons(UK supermarket chain)

Netto (UK) (discount supermarket chain)  Includes details of locations and current special offers, and links to Netto sites in other countries featuring 'Smart Shopping'. By taking a no frills approach and cutting out all those unnecessary extras, we can offer you premium quality at the lowest prices in Britain. By only paying for what you want and nothing else we can give today’s busy customer a different and fresh alternative to grocery shopping. And most importantly of all, save you time and money, every day of every week.

Poundland (UK discount retail chain)  All items in Poundland shops cost £1. 

QD Stores (UK discount retail chain)

Range, The (UK retail chain)  This chain has a small number of large stores with a layout similar to K-Mart and Wal-Mart, but UK prices. 

Safeway (UK supermarket chain)  Most of Safeway's 479 supermarkets in Britain have now been acquired by Morrison's, hence may be re-branded. 

Sainsbury's (UK supermarket chain)  http://www.sainsburys.com

Somerfield (UK supermarket chain)  http://www.somerfield.co.uk

WH Smith (UK retail chain)  -  WH Smiths sells books, magazines, stationary items.

Spar (UK) (European convenience store chain)  -  This is Spar's UK site. 

Spar (International)  -  This site covers Spar's operations in all countries. 

Subway (UK) - The Subway submarine sandwich chain has 150 locations in UK & Ireland

Superdrug (UK retail chain)  Superdrug is primarily a chemist. http://www.superdrug.com

Tesco (UK supermarket chain)  http://www.tesco.com

T J Huges - Discount department store chain.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_J_Hughes

http://www.tjhughes.co.uk/

Upim (Italian department store chain)

Waitrose (UK supermarket chain)  Part of the John Lewis organisation. 

Wimpy's (UK fast food restaurant chain)  Includes details of menu items and a restaurant locator, but no prices.  http://www.wimpyburgers.co.uk

http://www.recyclenow.com/what-to-do-with/carrier-bags
Business Green asda-raises-145-000-for-charity-through-scotlands-plastic-bag-levy

Yahoo ocean plastic pollution shocking death toll endangered animals

http://news.yahoo.com/ocean-plastic-pollution-shocking-death-toll-endangered-animals-205631553.html

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/02/20/ocean-plastic-pollutions-shocking-death-toll-endangered-animals

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/02/20/ocean-plastic-pollutions-shocking-death-toll-endangered-animals