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Impact accounting as a tool to transform grocery retail: Oda Group

Oda Group (Oda) is Norway’s leading online grocery retail platform, offering a wide range of fresh and dry food, and household products at competitive prices with home delivery to its more than 84,000 customers.

Objective

Oda aims to be an efficient and sustainable grocery retail system, from supplier to customer. This commitment encompasses minimizing delivery times and reducing food waste. For example, its digital platform streamlines the grocery supply chain, reducing the need for storage and transportation, which in turn extends the shelf life of products and minimizes food waste. As a next-generation retailer, Oda is uniquely positioned to leverage its technology to drive sustainable practices for both suppliers and consumers. 

To achieve its goals, Oda recognizes that it can’t simply stop at eliminating negative impact; it needs to go even further. In implementing impact accounting, Oda recognized an opportunity to validate the effectiveness of its sustainability strategy and identify any areas for improvement, by gaining a comprehensive understanding of its social and environmental impacts and pinpointing critical data gaps to enhance the quality and depth of its sustainability reporting and initiatives. Additionally, Oda recognized the value of impact accounting in conducting robust double materiality assessments, ensuring compliance with evolving regulatory requirements like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and ultimately strengthening its commitment to sustainable practices.  

“Oda’s application of impact accounting provided us with invaluable data and insights to help inform our sustainability strategy. We recognize that continuous improvement and transparency are essential for long-term value creation, and impact accounting can be a vital tool in achieving these goals.”

Carl-Fredrik Iuell Bergan, Chief Financial Officer, Oda

Application

Oda worked with impact investor Summa Equity and consulting service Valuing Impact to apply impact accounting frameworks to assess its sustainability strategy. Valuing Impact’s eQALY Impact Valuation Method was used to assess Oda’s operations and full value chain across social, human, and natural capital dimensions.  

This included an assessment of the following:  

  • Supply chain: Farming, including inputs, processing, packaging, and transporting 
  • Direct operations: Picking, packing and transporting to the end customer 
  • End-of-life: Handling waste, including processing packaging waste and avoided waste 
  • Consumption: Consuming the goods, including product utility and nutritional impact 

Findings and outcomes

  • Oda found that participating in the impact accounting process offered valuable insights into their operations and supply chain.  
  • The assessment found that Oda’s social and environmental impact provided a net positive impact on the company, with most positive impacts due to its product utility, i.e. the value of the consumption of food. 
  • As is common in the global agri-food sector, Oda’s supply chain activities contribute the most significant negative impacts, particularly on natural capital, such as plants, animals, air, water, soils, and minerals  
  • Oda discovered it should prioritize influencing both supply chain management and consumer demand toward more sustainable products, especially regarding protein and dairy choices. This represents the greatest opportunity for creating positive impact. 
  • The assessment also illuminated key areas for improvement, including sustainable procurement practices and supplier collaborations.  
  • While the initial results provided a general direction, the real value emerged through the process of data evaluation, internal knowledge sharing, and collaborative discussions. This collaborative approach strengthened the shared commitment to sustainability and helped Oda identify key areas for improvement within its operations. 

Future work

  • Oda plans to focus on areas highlighted by the assessment, like sustainable procurement practices and supplier collaboration, which it sees as central to addressing critical issues like land use and human rights within the supply chain, as well as improving environmental and social reporting in line with regulatory expectations, specifically CSRD.  
  • Although the impact accounting assessment indicated that food waste and last-mile transport have a limited overall impact, Oda maintains a strong commitment to minimizing these factors. It will continue to set ambitious operational targets in these areas, recognizing their importance for stakeholders and the direct control they have over them. Additionally, Oda remains dedicated to promoting sustainable, plant-based diets with a particular emphasis on reducing environmental impact. 

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