Initiatives to support customers in making sustainable choices

Today, ICA Gruppen presents its report on ICA’s sustainability activities for the first quarter of 2014. The report covers significant events and activities within environment, quality, ethical trade, health and social engagement.

“The year has started well for ICA Gruppen. We have achieved the Group’s climate target and carried out several initiatives to support customers in making sustainable choices. It is Important that ICA’s customers can make sustainable and informed choices” says Per Strömberg, CEO of ICA Gruppen.

Important events in brief:

• ICA took a major initiative to extend origin labelling of its private label products at ingredient level. A total of 2,500 private label products will be included. This initiative is unique in Europe.
• During the first quarter, ICA’s carbon dioxide emissions were 31% lower than in 2006, which is on a par with ICA’s long-term climate target.
• ICA Sweden’s sales of organic products increased sharply in the past quarter. In particular, sales increased for ICA’s own brand ICA I love eco.
• Several measures were taken to increase customers’ opportunities to choose Swedish raw materials in ICA stores. Among other things, ICA and the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF) decided to start a cooperation project and Danish raw material will be replaced by Swedish raw material in ICA bacon.
• ICA Sweden is the first Nordic grocery player to sign an agreement with IDH the Sustainable Trade Initiative, an organisation based in the Netherlands which works to up-scale sustainable trade.
• ICA is conducting extra quality support in ICA stores that mince meat on the premises after it was found that three ICA stores had handled minced meat incorrectly.

For further information, please contact
ICA Gruppen Press office, phone: +46 10 422 52 52

ICA Gruppen discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 08.30 CET on Thursday, 22 May 2014.

ICA Gruppen AB (publ) is one of the Nordic region’s leading retail companies, with around 2,400 of its own and retailer-owned stores in Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Group includes the retail companies ICA Sweden, ICA Norway and Rimi Baltic, ICA Real Estate, which owns and manages properties and ICA Bank, which offers financial services to Swedish customers. The Group also includes the wholly owned portfolio companies Forma Publishing Group and inkClub and partly owned portfolio companies Cervera, Hemtex and Kjell & Company. For more information see www.icagruppen.se

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