Four years of IMVO: supermarkets continue to score well

Supermarkets affiliated to the CBL signed the International Corporate Social Responsibility (IMVO) Food Covenant four years ago. During this period, supermarkets have worked hard to further implement their policies according to the OECD guidelines. And that is going well: for instance, this year supermarkets scored 90 per cent on the integration of IMVO policy into business operations and 87 per cent on risk prioritisation. This is evident from the self-assessment preceding the CBL report 'IMVO risk management in the supermarket sector'. 

The fourth annual measurement shows a nice growth compared to the starting year. Supermarkets show effective implementation of IMVO risk management with a total score of 85 per cent across all IMVO elements. Compared to last year, the results are fairly similar. "This shows that supermarkets have used a lot of potential in setting up IMVO risk management: good results have been achieved in recent years and we are proud of that. But supermarkets want even better results. Therefore, the focus in the coming year will be to take IMVO risk management to an even higher level," says Jennifer Muller, sustainability manager at the CBL.

Insights getting better

One of the main focal points for supermarkets is and remains having insight into the various links in a chain. That way, it is possible to make more concrete plans to reduce risks. Supermarkets are making progress on this, with six per cent more targeted actions drawn up in the fourth year (74 per cent in total). On the one hand, these action plans focus on due diligence in a general sense, while on the other, plans are made on specific topics, such as gender equality and working conditions. 

More transparency and cooperation remains necessary

Further progress in IMVO risk management requires cooperation with chain parties, certification organisations, governments and civil society organisations, among others. Even more transparency in complex international chains is an important action point in this regard, which supermarkets will be fully committed to in the final year of the IMVO covenant. As in previous years, setting up a well-functioning complaints mechanism remains an action point. Supermarkets will also continue to work on the specific projects at the individual level, together with the industry and with other covenant parties.

View the report 'IMVO risk management in the supermarket sector' (Dutch only)
Cbl.nl