Metro Inc. | Cage free eggs at Metro Inc.

Status
17.77% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
1
Resolution details
Lead filer
The Accountability Board
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Environment
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Animal welfare
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Consumer Staples
Company HQ country
Canada
Resolved clause
"RESOLVED: shareholders ask METRO to disclose: the current total percentage of eggs it sells from cage-free animals, what specific actions it took in furtherance
of its cage-free pledge between announcing its commitment in 2016 and rescinding it in 2021, and details of its action plan (moving forward) for increasing its cagefree offerings—including any strategies, benchmarks, and deliverables it has for meeting that goal. These disclosures should be made within three months and
omit proprietary information"
Supporting statement
"SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Dear fellow shareholders,
This proposal simply seeks details about one of METRO’s corporate responsibility plans.
As background: In 2017, METRO adopted a responsible procurement Framework and Supplier Code of Conduct. One of the four principles they’re based on is
“respect for animal health and welfare,” which METRO says aims to prevent “all forms of abuse” in its supply chain.
Yet, animals still routinely suffer in METRO’s supply chain. Take eggs, for example.
• Most egg-laying hens spend their lives locked in cages. Some are so small and cramped, the animals can’t even spread their wings. The abuse is
extreme—and companies like Loblaw, Tim Hortons, McDonald’s, Starbucks, and many others are switching to 100% cage-free eggs.
• In 2016, METRO pledged to source 100% cage-free eggs by 2025; but it rescinded that promise in 2021.
• According to METRO’s 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report, nearly 10% of its stores still don’t offer any cage-free eggs and a third of its own Life
Smart brand eggs still come from animals locked in cages.
As for METRO’s next steps?
METRO now just says, “We…plan to increase our offering of cage-free eggs.”
But METRO doesn’t disclose what that plan entails or how it will be implemented. And shareholders have no way to measure progress, because METRO doesn’t
provide its specific current or targeted cage-free egg percentages.
We think that if a company claims to have a plan for addressing a serious issue in its supply chain, shareholders ought to know what that plan entails and be clearly
and regularly informed of progress. (For example, Loblaw, Sobeys, Costco, Walmart, and others disclose their overall cage-free egg percentages.)
But not METRO. After years of pledging to address this issue, METRO now just vaguely says it plans to increase its sale of cage-free eggs"

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