Guiding Opinions
By Bernice Hurst, Managing Director, Fine Food Network
The Co-operative, the U.K. supermarket group, is balloting its four million members in the development of an ethical food policy. This is the largest poll of ethics ever undertaken in the U.K., and will guide the business' future responsible retailing strategy.
Following initial engagement with members, via focus groups and in-depth discussions, a comprehensive questionnaire has been produced in which members are asked to prioritize issues such as food quality, diet and health matters, animal welfare, community retailing, ethical sourcing, climate change and recycling.
As reported in The Guardian, the purpose is not only to find out which issues are most important to customers but also to "make it clear that some seemingly sensible changes had negative repercussions that it could not support." In other words, the group is asking members to consider the adoption of truly sustainable positions, and to not consider issues in isolation.
Paul Monaghan, the Co-op's head of ethics, designed the survey and told The Guardian that the Co-op wants shoppers to understand that things are not always as clear-cut as they may seem. As an example, he points to how the drive to reduce food miles and carbon emissions could have real social impact on third world growers.
"There is a whole series of decisions...being taken which are wrong because people aren't joining the issues up,” said Mr. Monaghan. Clarifying, he added, "We will try to reduce carbon but never at the expense of the world's poorest."
Other examples cited were shipping wine to the U.K. in bulk for bottling rather than importing bottles, which means winemakers in countries such as South Africa receive less for their output. Mr. Monaghan also pointed out that switching to lightweight packaging might mean abandoning glass, which is more environmentally friendly.
Peter Marks, chief executive of the Co-operative Trading Group, said: "We are determined not to pursue lazy thinking, such as airplane logos on air freighted produce, and instead take a more considered approach - one consistent with a business that was founded to tackle responsible retailing from the outset. Our members will help establish our ethical priorities for the next three to five years and will be a constant means of obtaining a mandate for our actions."
The Co-operative Group describes itself as "the world's largest consumer co-operative with a turnover of more than £9 billion, 4.5 million members and 87,500 employees." In the past, it has earned credit for leading the switch to green electricity in 1988 and it became the first retailer in the U.K. to switch all its mainland outlets to green electricity. Over the past year, it was won awards for its work around climate change.
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the Co-op's attempt to develop an ethical food policy? Do you think consumers need more help fully understanding how their purchasing decisions around ethical and environmental issues are impacting society? Do you think it will work?