Carrying The Can: MPs' Views Of Supermarkets' Responsibilities
With huge media and consumer interest in climate change and the environment more widely, it is impossible not to have noticed that supermarkets have been upping their game, with a number of big players making bold and no doubt challenging commitments.
With huge media and consumer interest in climate change and the environment more widely, it is impossible not to have noticed that supermarkets have been upping their game, with a number of big players making bold and no doubt challenging commitments.
In January, Sir Terry Leahy pledged Tesco to develop and roll out carbon footprint labelling. In the same month Stuart Rose spearheaded M&S's 'Plan A', a five year 'eco-plan' committing the company to, amongst other things, becoming carbon neutral by 2012. Meanwhile in early February Wal-Mart unveiled its 'Sustainability 360' plans, encompassing a broad spectrum of sustainability initiatives including a target for Asda to send zero waste to landfill by 2010.
These sorts of initiatives by the retail industry respond to the Government's call for business to "ensure that environmental protection and community cohesion are seen as an integral part of delivering business prosperity" [note 1]. The Government itself is under pressure from NGOs that it isn't taking sustainability issues seriously enough. They argue that its policy is insufficient to drive real change among businesses, and that the Government is failing to lead on this issue, citing for example the watered down non-financial reporting requirements announced in the new Companies Act.
But what do MPs really think? We asked them how seriously each of the big food retailers are taking their responsibilities via Ipsos's twice yearly study of MPs, conducted in November / December 2006.
MPs perceive M&S and Sainsbury's, and to a lesser extent Waitrose, to be doing the most. Their premium positioning and history of commitment puts them in a strong position to lead on sustainability issues, and this focus certainly fits with their brand positioning and customer profiles. Bearing in mind when the research was conducted, it will be very interesting to see whether the more recent announcements by some of their key competitors have made any dent on this leadership when we come to measure perceptions the next time around.
When asked how supermarkets could be more responsible, three areas of primary concern are emerging for MPs: the fair treatment of suppliers, environmental issues and supermarkets' impact on smaller competitors.
A quarter of MPs spontaneously call on supermarkets to support local growers and producers (the top answer) and there is also concern that British suppliers should be treated fairly and with integrity, with milk being highlighted as a specific area of concern.
In terms of supermarkets' environmental impact, MPs' focus is on reducing food miles and volume of packaging.
Fair competition is also a priority in the eyes of MPs, with a call for supermarkets to take more responsibility for their impact on smaller retailers, an issue highlighted as a 'principal concern' by the Competition Commission's current grocery inquiry within their 'emerging thinking document' released in January.
One MP sums up the mood of the House:
They could source products with fewer miles, buy products locally and give a better deal to farmers and producers and be more sensitive to the need to keep our traditional community centre shopping areas viable, and not just building out of town supermarkets
But have retailers raised the bar too high in promising not only to address technically complex sustainability issues but also attempt to bring consumers with them under relatively tight timelines? The complexities are not easy for consumers to grasp and there are many tensions within this arena, such as the desire to both reduce environmental impact and source locally grown products. Locally produced products grown out of season aren't necessarily more environmentally friendly than those grown in season overseas. The recent 'Shopping Trolley Report' [note 2] pointed out for instance that greenhouse based tomato cultivation in SE England is one hundred times more energy demanding than California open-field cultivation.
The issues are complex and pressing if we are to avert the dire consequences some are predicting from climate change, and retailers must be applauded for their ambition and determination to tackle such issues.
But exactly how this will translate into a common and widely used currency that is accessible to consumers is yet to be seen. Will we see a repeat of the food nutrition labelling fiasco, where a number of approaches have been developed, resulting in consumers having more information, but being more confused by the proliferation of systems? Will the recently announced Government initiative to develop a standardised method to calculate GHGs (greenhouse gasses) in collaboration with the British Standards Institute and Carbon Trust be the solution? And will retailers and manufacturers realistically be able to deliver on it in time to meet consumer demands?
Retailers will need to tread carefully if they are to meet expectations whilst maintaining their reputations and credibility when tackling the thorny giant of sustainability.
Ipsos is currently carrying out further research among the general public, opinion leaders and experts on perceptions of retail and sustainability. We will be publishing our findings this summer.
The next waves of Ipsos's MPs study takes place in June and October 2007. The study enables companies to gain the views of a sample of around 100 MPs who are representative of the House of Commons. We have a wealth of data tracking their views of many companies and issues.
The findings in this article are based on interviews among 97 MPs conducted between 23 November and 21 December 2006.
For more information about Ipsos's MPs study contact Andrew Nelson, and for more information about our work on retailers and their reputations contact Helen Lamb or Jane Robinson.
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