Retailing

1

• Retailing Sustainable Development
• or
• "Is it Government or Supermarkets who should
  kick-start big changes towards sustainable
  consumption?
• Reflections on the Sustainable Development
  Commission's 'Green, health and fair' report"
• Tim Lang
• Centre for Food Policy, City University
• Sustainable Development Commission
• t.lang_at_city.ac.uk
• Lecture to Sustainable Consumption Institute,
• University of Manchester, May 21 2008

2
Outline of talk

• SDC Green, healthy and fair report
• Why sustainable food system matters
• Ways forward
• Why Govt should be engaged ( all!)
• Problems ahead
• Propose some core features
• Omni-standards for a sustainable food system
• Which ones?
• Filling the policy space

3
Q Is it Government or Supermarkets who should
kick-start big changes towards sustainable
consumption?

• My answer
• Everyone has to be involved
• very fast,
• .but Government has particular responsibilities
  and
• should neither fudge nor palm them off

4
SDC supermarkets review
5
The SDC supermarkets report Green, Healthy
Fair (February 2008) http//www.sd-commission.or
g.uk/pages/supermarkets.html
6
The SDCs role

• Governments independent watchdog on sustainable
  development (SD) UK wide
• Through advocacy, advice and appraisal, we put SD
  at heart of Government policy
• This is the third of our thematic reviews, as
  part of our Watchdog role

7
Why food?

• Linked to tough challenges e.g. obesity, climate
  change, waste global poverty
• Cost to the economy e.g. obesity (10bn/year,
  forecast 50bn by 2050)
• Largest contributor to household GHG impact
• Major source of waste (e.g. 6.7m tonnes of food
  waste from UK homes)
• Many rural livelihood in UK globally depend on
  UK food system

8
Rising evidence of foods impact

• UK food consumption accounts for 31 of all
  consumption related GHG emissions
• source EC, 2005, life cycle environmental
  impact of products EIPRO
• Waste from UK homes
• 40 cannot be recycled
• 5.2 million tonnes of food-related packaging
• 6.7 million tonnes of food waste
• source WRAP 2007
• UK agriculture uses 742 million m3 of water Food
  drink industry 155 million m3 used
• source Defra (2007) Water use in the supply
  chain

9
Studies e.g. NW Englands footprint 2000 (land,
energy and sea-space)

• Totalled 43 mt global hectares (gha) 6.2 gha
  per resident in North West England.
• UK food and farmings footprint is up to six
  times the food growing area of the UK itself
• Food highest single footprint component,
  estimated at 1.4 gha/per capita
• Used 20 mt raw materials to produce 4.2 mt
  consumed
• Used more than 0,5 mt packaging
• c. 1 mt of food drink uneaten ?sent to landfill
• Source Birch et al (2005). Footprint North
  West. Manchester Action for Sustainability,
  University of Manchester, and Stockholm
  Environment Institute at York

10
Aims and scope of SDC review

• Assess if Govt policies on food system help or
  hinder progress towards SD
• Assess how whether Govt uses the key role of
  supermarkets fully
• Make recommendations to Govt DAs to improve
  the effectiveness of existing policy and to
  address gaps
• Review Govt retailer initiatives towards a
  sustainable food system

11
Source HMG (2005). Securing our Future
UK Governments overall SD goals
12
SDC approach Triangle of change in I will if
you will report

• Focus on governments role in enabling retailers
  (and consumers) to support a sustainable food
  system

13
Methodology and engagement

• Research
• Mapping of current government policy and
  commitments
• Retailer and stakeholder survey (OLR)
• Engagement
• Two advisory groups i) Government Reference
  Group ii) External Advisory Group
• Individual meetings with retailers, regulatory
  bodies and government delivery bodies
• Workshop Vision for a Sustainable Food System
  20 June 2007

14
Recommendations

• Detailed ones for different Govt Depts
• General
• Lack of coherent vision or roadmap for
  Sustainable food system (pending PMSU rep)
• Need to lead in providing evidence base for above
• Catalyst for change

15
Report highlights 6 priority areas

• Climate change
• Waste
• Water
• Ecosystems
• Nutrition obesity
• Supply chain relationships

16
Key findings

• Govt Targets Government cannot meet its own
  targets on health, waste, climate change and fair
  trade without a concerted strategy to harness the
  power of supermarkets
• Govt involvement myth that SD can be left to
  markets / big retail. Government is already
  heavily engaged - 19 Whitehall depts relate with
  supermkts on 100 policy areas and
  responsibilities
• Long-term vision frustration at lack, yet
  Retailers are willing to work with government

17
Specific steps Govt should take

• Create a vision (what is a Sustainable food
  system?)
• Co-ordination
• Collaboration
• Continue to build the evidence base
• Catalyse change

18
1. Create a vision

• Creating a vision and roadmap what is a
  sustainable food system?
• Long-term goals provide context for way forward
  clarity.
• Link to high level goals
• e.g. translate climate change into retail
  specific priorities

19
2. Co-ordination

• Perception of inconsistent messages e.g.
• plastic bags, waste
• Policy not joined up e.g.
• health environment (Defra, DH, FSA on fish)
• environment overseas development (food miles)
• fragmented climate change policies

20
3. Collaboration

• Working with supermarkets Govt should harness
  supermarket power effectively
• e.g. climate change
• More than light bulbs surely!
• e.g. obesity
• More than a few metres of lownlite products on
  shelves surely!
• Requires comprehensive change in what is
  produced, consumed and how people do or dont
  burn it off

21
Collaboration (cont.)

• e.g. Waste
• Waste minimisation up the supply chain needs
  policy focus needs firmer framework goals
• Govt not enforcing or testing Packaging
  Regulations which sent wrong signals
• Courtauld commitment targets need to be ratcheted
  up to more ambitious targets
• Recycling/composting facilities are random and
  variable, making a UK-wide approach difficult
• e.g. Fairer supply chains
• We recommend a broader remit for OFT
• OFT to strengthen and enforce the Code of Practice

22
4. Build the evidence base

• Define a sustainable food system
• too many gaps, uncertainties tensions
• Tensions betw envtal, social health priorities
• Confusion among consumers and retailers.
• Translate evidence ? policy (more confidently and
  generally)especially
• wicked issues
• meat/dairy
• impact diets for climate
• obesity

23
Evidence (cont.)

• Develop new indicators known to be needed
• e.g. embedded water
• Development of ecosystems services approach
• very good start but overall standards of
  production to receive public subsidy
  (cross-compliance) needs to rise
• create Green Tractor / Leaf plus standards

24
5. Catalyse change

• Reduced excessive reliance on green consumer
• Heighten Govt role as enabler (log-jams)
• Use full range of policy mechanisms
• Advice labelling (eg traffic lights nutn
  label)
• Standards (eg Green Tractor)
• Evaluation (eg benchmarking, indicators)
• Fiscal incentives, regulation, legislation (eg
  OFT role in fair supply chains, more effective
  implementation of packaging legislation)

25
What reactions to the SDC report?
26
Reactions

• Good traction inside Govt the key focus
• Good reaction from stakeholders
• Civil society generally favourable but pushing
• Engagement process with others now underway
• Still early days

27
Why should Govt even think about all
this?(Isnt it easier to leave it to Tesco et
al?)
28
Realpolitik national food policy framework is
having to change

• PM Strategy Unit review of food food policy
• Scotland National Food Policy
• Wales Quality of Food Strategy, Food and Drink
  Strategy, Farming Strategy Wales
• Northern Ireland DARD, DOE, DHSSPS
• England Defras Sustainable Food Chain Programme
  Environmental Behaviours work, DTIs Retail
  Environmental Sustainability Expert group
• Other initiatives Carbon Trust, WRAP, EA/BRC
  retail sector partnership plan, etc.

29
Global food restructuring looms?

• End of the productionist paradigm
• Boyd Orr et al 1930/40s
• Old policy equation running out of steam
• Capital Science Distribution ? Health
• Problems
• Environmental mining
• New health profile (obesity etc)
• Globalisation ? huge co.s ? weaker states
• Consumerism / expectations

30
Tectonic plates of food supply chains are moving

• Price uncertainties
• Energy prices rocketing (126 barrel 20/05/08)
• Other big buyers on the block BRICs
• Global trade insecurity ? bilateral deals
• UAE buying land in Pakistan China in Africa
• Major environmental, societal and economic
  challenges
• from climate change to biodiversity

31
The era of new fundamentals (different to 1970s
crisis)

• Commodity prices in global markets
• Climate change
• Fuel / oil / energy
• Water

• Land use
• Labour
• Demographics / affluence (BRICs )
• Health / Nutrition transition

• See
• T Lang Rachel Carson City Leaders lectures
  http//www.city.ac.uk/news/archive/2008/03_march/0
  4032008_1.html http//www.pan-uk.org/Projects/RCM
  L/index.htm
• Chatham House project http//www.chathamhouse.org
  .uk/research/global_trends/

32
(No Transcript)
33

• Global food commodity prices rocketed 2007 but
  might be slowing down 2008 FAO

34
Optimism vs pessimism? (Blip theory)
Source USDA
35
Meat fish production ever up?

• Source FAO/Worldwatch 2008

36
Chatham House Food Supply project scenariiMay
2008
37
Mapping the contours of sustainable food the
emergence of omni-standards?
38
What is a sustainable food system? Clearly not
ours but what?

• LESS OF?
• Less consumption, not more
• Less meat dairy?
• Less energy?

• OCCASIONAL?
• Treats?

• MORE OF.?
• More seasonal?
• More local?
• More grains?

Are we serious?
39
The difficulty of such thinking

• More/less thinking assumes rich world living as
  normal and sets out to tame it
• It ignores DC/LDC SEG/class difference
• It underplays the lock-in to status quo from
• consumer aspirations
• market growth logic
• government fragmentation ( multi-level)

40
We need simple messages to change food culture
but

• Its complex say academics (retailers too)
• Manchester Life Cycle study
• Work of Food Climate Research Network
• Its dangerous do later say politicians
• Rhetoric vs deliveryhard to translate
• Put onus on consumers the easy option
• Its not needed say status quo merchants
• Leave it to market innovation
• Individual responsibility is the way forward

41
My view is that inaction and pessimism are
indulgence

• Collectively we have to
• face the complexity
• begin mapping the way out / forward
• speed this process up
• One way to start
• begin outlining the criteria against which a
  sustainable food system could be judged.

42
Omni-standards mapping criteria by which SusFood
could be measured

• Why needed?
• On what terrain?
• How to do it?
• Which ones?
• When?

43
Omni-standards why?

• Responds to range of evidence for change
• current criteria too simple / narrow
• Harnesses existing experimentation in retailing,
  from ETI to SAI
• Some Industries are going that way e.g.
  GlobalGap, SAI but gaps exist
• Anticipates emergence of new needs
• Helps codify the shift from value-for-money
  (price, quality, regularity, availability, etc)
  to values-for-money

44
Example of why (1) consumers juggle competing
appeals, e.g. fish
45
NGOs fill the gap about what do do? e.g. Sustain
on nutrition vs sustainable vs safety source
Sustain (2005) Like shooting fish in a barrel
www.sustainweb.org
46
Example of why (2) poor awareness of vital
issues, eg. embedded water
UK H2O usesource J Zygmunt/Waterwise 2007
47
Products virtual water content (litres)

• 1 potato (100g) 25
• 1 bag of potato crisps (200g) 185
• 1 egg (40g) 135
• 1 hamburger (150g) 2400
• 1 cotton T-shirt (medium, 500g) 4100
• 1 sheet A4 paper (80g/m20) 10
• 1 pair of shoes (bovine leather) 8000
• 1 microchip (2g) 32

• glass beer (250ml) 75
• glass milk (200ml) 200
• glass wine (125ml) 120
• glass apple juice (125ml) 190
• cup coffee (125ml) 140
• cup of tea (125ml) 35
• slice of bread (30g) 40
• slice of bread (30g) with cheese (10g) 90

Source WWF (2006) rich countries, poor water.
www.panda.org/freshwater
48
Embedded water in foodsource Chapagain
Hoekstra 2004
49
But if we were serious about H20, what about
Kenyan green beans to UK?source James MacGregor
and Bill Vorley IIED/DfID seminar Nov 2006

• 189 million m3 of virtual water each year
  imported through green beans from Africa
• Per stem 4 litres of virtual water
• Water diversion on Mount Kenya reports
• Kenya is a water scarce country
• Considerations
• Access to water is an infrastructural issue
• Water scarcity, siting industry
• Embedded labour, oil, air, etc
• Marginal water use, system approach Kenya
  imports rice

50
and if linked to health? H2O per caloriesource
Joanne Zygmunt Waterwise 2007
51
Omni-standards how to choose?

• Goal translate Securing the future principles
  
• Sources
• Experts? Companies? The state? Consumers? NGOs?
• Through which institutions?
• Global? European? National? DA? Local?
• Under which process
• Political formalities parliamentary? Codex?
  EFSA?
• Public consultation
• THIS IS INEVITABLY A MATTER OF JUDGEMENT

52
Omni-Standards which? Some contenders

• Quality
• Fresh
• Localness
• Seasonality
• Social justice /Moral
• Animal welfare
• Fair trade
• Working conditions
• Cost internalisn

• Environmental
• Climate change
• Water
• Land
• Biodiversity
• Sourcing
• Health
• Safety
• Nutrition
• Cultural

53
Contenders more detail (1)
54
Contenders more detail (2)
55
Contenders more thoughts
56
Leave it to NGOs? Sustains 7 principles for
sustainable food (Dec 2007) http//www.sustainweb.
org/sustainablefood/
57
Could complexity be reached in a label traffic
lightsDo we want it? Sustain
58
Omni-standards the schedule

• Bring together diverse work strands
• Work on methodological consistency
• Explore high scorers (e.g. meat dairy re
  water/nutrition/carbon/land use)
• Think about how to translate for policy (e.g.
  lamb in Wales or Suffolk)
• Engage with policy openings (e.g. Foresight Land
  Use)

59
Omni-standards some criticisms

• Not needed wrong SDC rept indicated need
• Will put onus on consumers wrong doesnt need
  to be labelled key thing is to factor into
  supply chains pre-consumer
• Will stop innovation wrong focuses it and
  raises the game
• Too complex true but must be faced
• Trojan horse for State interference possible but
  only if no action now better I will if you
  will approach

60
Conclusions
61
Facing omni-standards charts a manageable roadmap
for the future

• Manages the shift from value-for-money to
  values-for-money food economy
• Faces the evidence
• Gets ahead of the curve
• Alternatives too weak
• Niche markets
• Leave it to consumers
• Solo company action
• Wait for EU
• Ostrich?

62
Challenges for SCI

• Connect SusCon issues to big picture
• Food security in new geo-politics
• Defining what sustainable food is means facing SD
  in entirety
• Refine methodologies and evidence
• Locate in policy context options
• Engage with realities of food supply
• Retain critical integrity

63
Challenges for all of us

• Govt to engage
• Supply chain - to collaborate while remaining
  competitive
• Consumers to change
• ALL THIS MORE RAPIDLY THAN THE FOOD SYSTEM HAS
  RESTRUCTURED IN MODERN TIMES (EXCEPT IN WAR)

64
Thanks