Date
25 September 2020
Tags
Continente and Deco Proteste together for National Sustainability Day
Between September 25th and 27th, Continente and DECO Proteste come together to raise awareness among the Portuguese about the importance of taking sustainable options on a daily basis. Throughout the country, Continente stores will receive the Consumer Protection Organization with several practical tips for behavioural change and encouraging participation in the creation of the National Sustainability Day.
From 3 pm to 9 pm, on September 25th, and from 10 am to 1 pm and from 3 pm to 7 pm, on September 26th and 27th, the Amadora, Évora, Loulé, Maia Jardim, S. João da Madeira, Santarém, Viana do Castelo and Viseu Continente stores will promote awareness actions on some of the most common behaviours that compromise the environment, leaving tips for consumers to become more sustainable and, at the same time, save. From “the decrease in the use of plastic bags, to solutions to reduce food and energy waste, Continente and DECO Proteste share new habits that could make a difference tomorrow” reveals Bruno Santos, from the Consumer Protection Organization.
“Although it is not yet possible to make official the 25th of September - proposed as the National Sustainability Day -, with all partners, associates and consumers, we took this opportunity to mark the date and alert the Portuguese, objectively, about the current panorama and the urgency of more sustainable practices”, reveals Bruno Santos, from DECO Proteste. This initiative together with Continente is the result of a “happy partnership between two organizations that are concerned with the future and that strongly believe that each of us can contribute to the urgent change in favour of the Planet Earth.”
Pedro Lago, Director of Sustainability and Circular Economy Projects at Sonae MC adds that “sustainability is worked on Continente every day, but the existence of a national day reinforces collective responsibility. That is why we are the first retail chain in Portugal to want to relate to this day”.
To appeal to this cause and sensitize the Portuguese - private and businesses - to the necessary behavioural change, DECO Proteste delivered in April this year, in the Assembly of the Republic, the proposal to create the National Sustainability Day, pending now by scheduling the discussion of the topic in plenary, so, as Bruno Santos, from the Consumer Protection Organization, mentions, “it is now essential that consumers join us to achieve recognition of this day by the Assembly of the Republic”.
DECO Proteste chose September 25th to mark the National Sustainability Day as a tribute to the date on which the 17 Sustainable Development Goals were made official by the UN.
About Continente
Continente is Sonae MC's food retail brand. With 35 years of existence, it was the first hypermarket chain to be installed in Portugal and currently has more than 300 stores. The chain's lines of action are consumer orientation, low prices, strong promotional dynamics, product quality, not to mention sustainability as a pillar of its activity. Topics such as healthy eating, community support, fighting food waste and circular economy have been at the centre of its operations in recent years. Currently, it has already achieved annual savings of more than 4,200 tonnes of virgin plastic in packaging and private label products; was the first national retailer to sign the Ellen MacArthur foundation's New Plastics Economy - Global Commitment; in 2019, it recovered the equivalent of € 12M in food surpluses, with donations to over 1,000 social support and animal welfare institutions as well as distribution between employees; among many other initiatives.
About DECO PROTESTE
DECO PROTESTE is one of the main consumer protection organizations, which develops campaigns, studies, technical and legal opinions, with the goal of providing the best information to consumers and claiming their rights in Portugal and in the international organizations where it operates. It is part of the international group Euroconsumers, which brings together several consumer protection organizations in Spain, Belgium, Italy and Brazil.
From 3 pm to 9 pm, on September 25th, and from 10 am to 1 pm and from 3 pm to 7 pm, on September 26th and 27th, the Amadora, Évora, Loulé, Maia Jardim, S. João da Madeira, Santarém, Viana do Castelo and Viseu Continente stores will promote awareness actions on some of the most common behaviours that compromise the environment, leaving tips for consumers to become more sustainable and, at the same time, save. From “the decrease in the use of plastic bags, to solutions to reduce food and energy waste, Continente and DECO Proteste share new habits that could make a difference tomorrow” reveals Bruno Santos, from the Consumer Protection Organization.
“Although it is not yet possible to make official the 25th of September - proposed as the National Sustainability Day -, with all partners, associates and consumers, we took this opportunity to mark the date and alert the Portuguese, objectively, about the current panorama and the urgency of more sustainable practices”, reveals Bruno Santos, from DECO Proteste. This initiative together with Continente is the result of a “happy partnership between two organizations that are concerned with the future and that strongly believe that each of us can contribute to the urgent change in favour of the Planet Earth.”
Pedro Lago, Director of Sustainability and Circular Economy Projects at Sonae MC adds that “sustainability is worked on Continente every day, but the existence of a national day reinforces collective responsibility. That is why we are the first retail chain in Portugal to want to relate to this day”.
To appeal to this cause and sensitize the Portuguese - private and businesses - to the necessary behavioural change, DECO Proteste delivered in April this year, in the Assembly of the Republic, the proposal to create the National Sustainability Day, pending now by scheduling the discussion of the topic in plenary, so, as Bruno Santos, from the Consumer Protection Organization, mentions, “it is now essential that consumers join us to achieve recognition of this day by the Assembly of the Republic”.
DECO Proteste chose September 25th to mark the National Sustainability Day as a tribute to the date on which the 17 Sustainable Development Goals were made official by the UN.
About Continente
Continente is Sonae MC's food retail brand. With 35 years of existence, it was the first hypermarket chain to be installed in Portugal and currently has more than 300 stores. The chain's lines of action are consumer orientation, low prices, strong promotional dynamics, product quality, not to mention sustainability as a pillar of its activity. Topics such as healthy eating, community support, fighting food waste and circular economy have been at the centre of its operations in recent years. Currently, it has already achieved annual savings of more than 4,200 tonnes of virgin plastic in packaging and private label products; was the first national retailer to sign the Ellen MacArthur foundation's New Plastics Economy - Global Commitment; in 2019, it recovered the equivalent of € 12M in food surpluses, with donations to over 1,000 social support and animal welfare institutions as well as distribution between employees; among many other initiatives.
About DECO PROTESTE
DECO PROTESTE is one of the main consumer protection organizations, which develops campaigns, studies, technical and legal opinions, with the goal of providing the best information to consumers and claiming their rights in Portugal and in the international organizations where it operates. It is part of the international group Euroconsumers, which brings together several consumer protection organizations in Spain, Belgium, Italy and Brazil.