Dive Brief:

• Kroger has set a goal to reduce water usage at its stores by 5% this year.
• The goal was announced as the nation's largest supermarket chain released its eighth annual sustainability report. 
• Among the goals achieved this year by Kroger: Contributing more than 73 million pounds of food to charity and giving some $46 million to schools through its Community Rewards program, which connects rewards cards to charitable giving.

Dive Insight:

A cynic would suggest that a sustainability report is nothing more than a public-relations ploy aimed more at boosting a company's reputation than at helping the planet.

But that doesn't change the fact that the planet is being helped. In this year's report, Kroger notes that it has cut energy consumption by 35% since 2000, and plans to move to 100% sustainably source palm oil by the end of 2015.