Consumers

Investing in retail research

Tesco is to invest £25m in the study of how to encourage environmentally-friendly consumption by teaming up with the University of Manchester to create the Sustainable Consumption Institute.
The institute will research how consumers can be incentivised to buy green products and services, how companies can adapt to meet these needs and it will also encourage the training of future environmental experts. According to Tesco, projects regarding how to live a low-carbon life and the role of new technology in this are already underway. Contact Tesco www.tescocorporate.com

Briefing comment

The announcement from Tesco to invest £25m in a new sustainable consumption institute at Manchester University should be welcomed as clear signal that a leading UK retailer is concerned about sustainable development. The idea is to move the debate beyond corporate environmental responsibility to consider the consumers’ role in tackling the threat of climate change. According to Tesco’s press release, the planned institute will explore vital areas of research such as how customers can be incentivised to buy green products and adopt more sustainable lifestyles.

Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy goes on to say that consumers expect the company to take a lead in helping them follow greener lifestyles.

However, it must be hoped that in moving the focus onto consumers’ behaviour, Tesco will not forget its own responsibilities to the environment. Tesco's carbon footprint is substantial. The company’s own estimates place carbon emissions at more than 4m tonnes every year. The supermarket was recently criticised in a report by the development charity, Christian Aid, which claims that this figure does not include the emissions caused by shoppers driving to and from its stores or those incurred by its suppliers. Christian Aid believes that the true impact Tesco has on the environment could be as much as 12 times higher.

Looking at the bigger picture, it is apparent that the supermarket system itself requires radical change in order to reduce this environmental impact. Some critics would argue that fundamental issues such as out-of-town sites, highly centralised distribution networks and the global sourcing of goods all conspire to make the business model unsustainable – in every sense of the word. Turning the clock back fifty years to local sourcing, distribution and retailing is not a realistic option. Getting big business to invest in impartial research into green consumerism might prove to be a significant step forward in the development of the retail sector.

Irresponsible marketing

Consumer group Which? released a survey on August 21 that criticised the use of cartoons to market unhealthy foods. Of the parents interviewed, 75% thought that it was irresponsible to use cartoons to promote unhealthy food to children and wanted the practice to stop. Among the companies named were Burton’s, Marks & Spencer and Kellogg’s. Which? note that there are very few instances of cartoons being use to market healthy food and are calling for companies to follow in the footsteps of Disney and Warner Bros, both of which have announced they will no longer use cartoons to market unhealthy food to children.

Contact Which 01992 822 800 www.which.co.uk

Alcohol advertising should be curbed

There should be no alcohol advertising before 9pm according to a new report from Alcohol Concern. Not In Front Of The Children, released in August, found that the number of alcohol adverts increases between 3pm and 5pm and that programmes such as Home and Away, The X-Factor, and The Simpsons, where a majority of the audience are children, contain adverts for alcohol. One of the recommendations it makes is that there should be no alcohol advertising between 6am and 9pm and that information regarding the regulation of the marketing of alcohol should be more publicly available. The Portman Group, an organisation representing drinks manufacturers with the aim of promoting responsible drinking, responded by describing the 9pm watershed as “unnecessary” and stated that “completely shielding this age group from any images of alcohol is not helping them grow up with sensible and balanced attitudes to drinking".

Contact Alcohol Concern 020 7264 0510 www.alcoholconcern.org.uk; The Portman Group 020 7907 3700 www.portman-group.org.uk

ASDA cleared of marketing vodka to children

Asda’s marketing of its vodka-based drinks is not irresponsible according to The Portman Group – the social responsibility group for drinks producers.

A complaint had been made that Asda, a UK supermarket affiliated with Wal-Mart, was marketing its vodka-based drinks to children by using colourful images and flavours such as raspberry and vanilla. But, the Independent Complaints Panel, which makes decisions under the Portman Group’s code of practice, rejected the complaint because the marketing does comply with the code.

However, the panel stressed in a statement on August 8 that consumers must “remain alert” and “report any concerns about alcohol marketing” to the panel.

Contact Portman Group 020 7907 3700 www.portman-group.org.uk