September 2006
Supermarkets' Green Credentials Attacked
Supermarkets are failing to live up to their environmental claims, according to the influential consumer group the National Consumer Council (NCC). How green is your chosen supermarket?
The NCC tested supermarkets on four "environmental indicators" - the availability of seasonal food in supermarkets, their range of organic products, their record on taking products from "sustainable" sources, and on cutting waste - and found that none came up to scratch. They rated the shops from 'A' for excellent to 'E' for poor on a variety of criteria, including:
- how far food had been transported,
- incentives offered to consumers to recycle,
- the availability of fish sourced from sustainable stocks,
- the availability of organic foods.
Waitrose came top of the ranking, scoring a 'B', and Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer received a 'C'. Tesco and Asda followed, both scoring 'D'. WM Morrison and Somerfield came bottom after scoring an 'E'.
Sue Dibb, principal policy advocate at the NCC, said: "Supermarkets have been doing some [green] things but there is much much more that they can do." She said a key component of any environmental strategy was offering consumers choice, and providing information on products in stores to be able to make that choice. "Supermarkets should be making it easier for shoppers to make green choices every day."
Supermarkets have been engaging in "green wars", trumpeting environmental initiatives such as cutting greenhouse gas emissions and investing in renewable energy, in response to an increasing interest in environmental issues, growing energy costs and pressure from the government in the form of increasing environmental regulation. Some environmentalists have dismissed the initiatives as "greenwash" in-tended to burnish the chains' reputations without having a substantial impact on their behaviour.
Supermarket chains that have been making the most of their green credentials in recent months were quick to criticise the findings.
Asda, which was given the top score for UK sourcing but told there was "room for improvement across the indicators", said the research was flawed. The store was criticised by the NCC for not having wooden kitchen wear certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, an independent body that promotes responsible management of forests.
But Asda said the report was "poorly researched". "Had they bothered to do their homework they'd have learned that every wooden product we sell, from charcoal to picture frames, all comes from FSC-certified renewable sources," it said. "Even our Shades toilet roll is produced with recycled and FSC certified paper pulp." It complained about bearish comments from the NCC on their fish policy. "We're also revolutionising how fish is caught and sold in British supermarkets, and cutting packaging by 10 per cent across the board over the next 18 months - hardly a 'bottom of the class' performance."
Sainsbury also objected to the report, claiming the NCC had put Morrisons' response on carrier bags in the Sainsbury's section. It insisted it had a leading record on reducing the use of plastic bags by customers, arguing it produced one plastic bag for every £10.19 of sales, against Tesco's one bag per £8.18 of sales.
Overall, Sainsbury was delighted to have come out ahead of rivals Tesco and Asda. Justin King, chief executive, said: "It is great the NCC has recognised Sainsbury's as the greenest major food retailer. Green issues have always been at the core of our business."
Tesco's scorecard was "poor", with the NCC suggesting the UK's biggest chain needed to work on its seasonal, UK-sourced food labeling, fishing and wood policies.
Waitrose, the UK's sixth largest supermarket chain, claimed the top spot on the back of its sustainable fishing and wood policies. It was commended for its wide range of organic food and seasonal vegetables.
Steve Esom, managing director of Waitrose, was dismissive to competitors' complaints, insisting the NCC's research was "very thorough". "What they were looking at was whether information on sourcing was on products or in store, as their angle was looking at how supermarkets engage with consumers."
The findings "set the agenda", putting the onus on supermarkets to become greener in a wide range of areas. "The research we carried out found that 88 per cent of people [in a YouGov poll commissioned by Waitrose] believe that supermarkets and the government should take some responsibility for the environment, so this does set the challenge for us to do more."
What the Supermarkets Say
|
Asda |
Marks & Spencer |
Sainsbury’s |
Tesco |
Waitrose |
Grade by NCC |
D | C | C | D | B |
Carbon Emissions and Transport |
Aim to cut carbon emission by 80,000 tonnes by 2007
|
Reduced logistical fuel by 26% in the last 3 years
Aims for a 30% drop by 2007 |
Cut carbon emission by 20% since 2000 Has 4 wind turbines and is investing in solar energy technology Invested £20M in energy efficiency since 2002 Larger stores have automated building controls for efficiency 5% reduction in road miles in the last 12 months |
Halve energy used in 2010 compared to 2000 Reduced energy use by 15% in 2005 Invested £20M in energy efficiency Will invest £100M in fund to develop renewable energy Will save 4.5M road miles this year by moving to rail services Saved 8M road miles through use of double-decker trailers |
Cut road miles per £1M of sales by 2% Carbon emissions down by 20% since 2001 Energy efficiency up by 10% since 2004 Planning to invest £11M a year over 5 years for greener refrigeration |
Waste, Packaging and Recycling |
Plans to cease using landfill from 2010 Aims to cut own-brand packaging by 10% by 2007 |
Working with Waste and Resource Action Programme to use 30-50% recycled plastics in smoothie bottles and salad bowls Will aim to use 1,500 tonnes or recycled plastics |
Recycling banks at six London stores for CDs, clothes and plastic Rolling out a further 50 recycling banks by end of 2006 Cut waste sent to landfill by 5% in 2006 Testing fully compostable GM-free wrap on organic apples and potatoes Reduceing carrier bag use by 5% |
Uses re-useable green trays for fresh produce Recycles 71% of in-store waste Investing in 100 new consumer recycling points Customer now get "green" clubcard points for not using new carrier bags - saved 10M carrier bags in first three weeks |
In last 4 years consumption as a function of sales has been reduced by 24% Introduced 'Bag for Life' in 1997, saving 50M carrier bags and 6,000 tonnes of waste per year |
Product Sourcing |
Within 5 years all fish to be from sustainable sources No longer stocks swordfish, shark, skate wings, ling, huss and Dover sole |
Fairtrade tea and coffee in all in-store coffee shops All tea and coffee sold on shelves also Fairtrade has launched clothing made from Fairtrade cotton All eggs free range, including those used in meals and products Banned 60 pesticides from foods and will phase-out a further 19 |
Sourcing more local produce Sustainable sourcing for fish Skate and huff no longer sold stocked |
None given |
100% of fresh chicken, beef, pork, own-brand milk, cream and eggs is British Requires all of its suppliers of fresh and frozen products to be accredited to the 'Linking Farming with Environment' stamp Supports farmers in developing countries Funded 25 community projects at 10 citrus farms |
Resource Efficiency |
Using sustainable timber on new stores instead of steel |
Wants to use bio-degradable plastic wrapping on sandwich packs All 1.5M sandwich packs sold per week made from FSC certified cardboard Has banned all PVC from packaging |
Included geothermal power and waste-to-energy gasification / anaerobic digestion in planning applications for two new developments |
None given |
None given |
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