Lulu Hypermarket Qatar receives ‘Sustainability Award 2019’

Doha: Lulu Hypermarket Qatar has received the ‘Sustainability Award 2019’, in appreciation of their long-standing and continued efforts towards sustainability. The Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Eng. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Subaie handed over the Award to Mohamed Althaf, Director of Lulu Group International at the inaugural ceremony of Qatar Sustainability Summit 2019 held yesterday at St. Regis Hotel Doha, in the presence of Dr. Yousef Alhorr, Founding Chairman of Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD).

Conceiving Sustainability as one of its key missions, a major retailer in the region Lulu Hypermarket Qatar has partnered with GORD as the ‘Green Retail Partner’ for Qatar Sustainability Summit 2019, which is being held at St. Regis Hotel Doha.

As a company with strong sustainability policies, Lulu has always been at the forefront when it comes to giving back to the community and environment. They have introduced biodegradable bags in the year 2005 and proved to be the first supermarket chain to make this advancement towards sustainability. These bags, when combined with heat and moisture, expand the plastic’s molecular structure and allow the bioactive compounds to metabolize and neutralize the plastic to decompose without causing any harm to nature. 

Another significant step that Lulu Hypermarkets have taken towards sustainability, understanding the impact of its operations in the local community and environment, was the introduction of Reusable Bags.  The official launch was done last year at Lulu’s D-Ring Road branch with a mega campaign titled “I Choose to Reuse” on the underlying message: ‘RRR’ (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse). The initiative also had featured a “Green Checkout” program in the cash counters that promotes the use of reusable bags.  

Most recently, Lulu stores have introduced ‘Borrow a bag’ scheme that allows shoppers, who have forgotten a shopping bag or purchased more than expected, to borrow a bag rather than purchase one, with a view to cut down the use of single-use plastic bags.  Lulu is the first hypermarket chain in the region to allow customers to borrow shopping bags.

Lulu is now in pursuit of introducing shopping bags made of sustainably sourced paper and home compostable bags made from potato starch. They also have a plan to introduce ‘refill’ option in some selected categories soon, as they plan to offer a range of options to its shoppers to help them reduce plastic waste rather than imposing any one solution.