As a top executive at ALDI, Heather Moore (BBA94) is serious about sustainability and combating climate change.
She’s also a fierce advocate for food pantries, a commitment she exercises daily as vice president of operations for ALDI, USA. Instead of throwing out unused food at ALDI stores, Moore and her team take fresh produce and canned goods to local food pantries and homeless shelters. Their efforts reduce landfill use and food scarcity simultaneously.
This is one example of the many ways ALDI, the disruptor grocery chain famous for European delicacies and American staples at rock-bottom prices, is creating a more sustainable business model. Earlier this year, CEO Jason Hart announced that the chain is eliminating all plastic shopping bags and transitioning to natural refrigerants in all U.S. stores by 2035. ALDI already uses 100% renewable energy sources at all distribution centers and corporate campuses, a move that has cut carbon emissions by 85%.
Moore, a 29-year veteran of the grocery chain, is proud of the company’s sustainability efforts. She’s witnessed many changes since she started as an ALDI district manager in Eastern Iowa, just a few months after receiving her finance degree. Today, Moore leads operations across the Gulf Coast region, from Tallahassee, Fla., to Lafayette, La., and meeting sustainability goals while also keeping groceries affordable for customers is critical for her.
“I am proud of ALDI’s commitment to tackling complex sustainability issues while still keeping prices low,” says Moore. “My team is always looking for ways to positively impact the world around us—from recycling to trash cleanup. Our goal is to be model citizens and to encourage others to join us in our actions for a cleaner environment.”
Moore believes that corporations, regardless of size, play an essential role in moving the global economy toward a sustainable future. ALDI is committed to eliminating all waste headed to landfills by 2025 and cutting food waste in half by 2030. The national grocery chain already works with hundreds of food pantries nationwide but is stepping up its efforts to ensure that quality food does not wind up in the dumpster.
Paper > Plastic
By eliminating plastic grocery bags across the nation, ALDI has averted 9 million pounds of plastic waste and reduced their carbon footprint by 60 percent.
This last sustainability goal sits particularly well with Moore. “I’m a big advocate for food pantries because I have seen their good work—in the Gulf Coast and the Midwest,” says Moore.
“My daughter has picked up the bug, too, because she volunteers at a food pantry on her college campus. In our family, finding ways to help our neighbors and our planet is important.”
FUN FACT: ALDI's first U.S. store opened in Iowa City in 1976!
This article appeared in the 2024 issue of Exchange magazine.