All Willys stores now a “Good Environmental Choice

All Willys stores are now ready to be ecolabelled with the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation’s Bra Miljöval (“Good Environmental Choice”) ecolabel. Presently Willys is the only food retail chain in Sweden in which all stores have met the criteria for the ecolabel.

The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation’s (SSNC) Bra Miljöval ecolabel is a way of giving consumers guidance by highlighting products and – in this case – stores that have made great progress on environmental matters. During the past year, SSNC has inspected all 119 Willys stores to see if they meet the criteria to bear the Bra Miljöval ecolabel. All of the stores are now ready to display the ecolabel. 

“Obtaining an ecolabel for an entire store chain is a long process,” says Eva Eiderström, Head of the Bra Miljöval ecolabel at SSNC. “Willys has made a great effort that consumers will appreciate when they shop at Willys stores”.

In order to qualify for the Bra Miljöval ecolabel, each store must have a large offering of ecolabelled products. All tissue, household cleaners, and laundry and dish detergent that is sold must be ecolabelled. The store must also have a basic offering of organic and ecolabelled products. In addition, the company that runs the store must be engaged in environmental matters internally, such as by using only ecolabelled cleaning products for its own cleaning, sorting waste, purchasing only electricity from renewable sources and taking measures to improve energy efficiency in its operations. 

“Although Willys is a discount chain, we see no conflict between low prices and environmental concerns. We are pleased to be able to give our customers proof that they are shopping at a store that takes a serious involvement in protecting the environment,” comments Thomas Evertsson, President of Willys.

For further information, please contact:
Johanna Eurén, Head of PR, Willys, tel. +46-0703-461348

Willys is Sweden's leading discount retail food chain. Our business concept is to offer Sweden's cheapest bag of groceries. The Willys concept is also based on a broad product offering, with an accent on fresh products such as fruits and vegetables. Willys has 119 stores nationwide, plus some 40 small-format neighbourhood stores operating under the Willys hemma name. Willys has annual sales of slightly more than SEK 17.5 bn (2009) and is part of Axfood AB, which is listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm AB’s Large Cap list. For more information visit www.willys.se.