Supermarkets vying for green supremacy
Posted by DavidM in Buying green | 9 September 2006
The news that Sainsbury's is to sell over 500 of it's own-brand products in compostable packaging is the latest in a PR battle between the UK's large supermarkets.
Tesco's have introduced rewards for customers who don't take plastic bags and in May announced that all their bags would be degradable by September - though I've not seen an announcement that this has happened. On Friday they also announced the first organic clothing range to be sold by a major grocery chain in the UK.
ASDA has set a target to reduce it's carbon output by 80,000 tonnes a year by 2007 and is trialling farmer deliveries direct to store to reduce food miles.
These three companies pretty much control grocery shopping (and thereby sourcing) in the UK and their activities have a massive impact on the environment. All these initiatives - and others they have underway - are steps in the right direction but much more is needed.
For example, 500 products account for about 5% of all products Sainsbury's sells, and probably much less by volume. The opportunity for these organisations to reduce waste - in energy, packaging and by-products - is still massive and only consumer and shareholder pressure will accelerate progress.
