Shopping for tomorrow:promoting sustainable

consumption within food storesPeter Jones

The Business School, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, UK

David HillierCentre for Police Science, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, UK, and -

Daphne ComfortThe Business School, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, UK

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer an exploratory case study of how the UK’s top tenfood retailers are communicating sustainable consumption agendas to their customers within stores.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper begins with a discussion of the growing awareness ofthe role that retailers, and more particularly food retailers, can play in promoting sustainableconsumption. This is followed by a short literature review of current thinking on sustainableconsumption. Information obtained from two simple “walk through/visual observation andinformation collection” surveys conducted within the largest store operated by each of the top tenfood retailers within the towns of Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK, provided the empirical material forthe case study. The paper concludes with some reflections on how sustainable consumption fits intothe large food retailers’ business models.

Findings – The survey revealed that, while the UK’s top ten food retailers were providing customerswith some information on sustainable consumption, the dominant thrust of marketing communicationwithin stores was designed to encourage consumption. More generally, the paper concludes that, atbest, the UK’s leading food retailers are pursuing a weak model of sustainable consumption and thattheir definitions of, and engagement with, sustainable consumption is driven as much by commercialimperatives as by commitments to sustainability.

Originality/value – This paper provides an accessible review of the extent to which the UK’sleading food retailers are communicating sustainable consumption agendas to their customers withinstores and as such it will be of value to academics, practitioners, consumer organisations and policymakers interested in the role retailers can play in promoting sustainable consumption.

Keywords Sustainable consumption, Food retailers, Food industry, Marketing communications,Retailers, United Kingdom

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionSustainable consumption is a core policy objective within the UK government’ssustainable development strategy yet Cohen (2005) has argued that “sustainableconsumption” is the most obdurate challenge for the sustainable development agenda.In examining “the role of business” in “mainstreaming sustainable consumption”, theWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development (2008) has stressed theimportance of “using marketing communications to influence consumer choice andbehaviour.” This report further argues that marketing “can help consumers to find,choose and use sustainable products and services, by providing information, ensuring

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British Food JournalVol. 113 No. 7, 2011

pp. 935-948q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

0007-070XDOI 10.1108/00070701111148441

availability and affordability, and setting the appropriate tone through marketingcommunications.”

There is growing awareness that retailers have a vital role to play in promotingmore sustainable patterns of consumption. In March 2009, for example, the EuropeanCommission and a number of the UK’s leading retailers along with several of theirEuropean counterparts launched a “retail forum” as part of a drive to promote moresustainable consumption and Tesco, the UK’s leading retailer, claims to be leading thesector “towards sustainable consumption” (Tesco, 2008) while Kingfisher (2008)emphasises its “commitment to go beyond legal compliance and position the companyas a leader in sustainable consumption.” Retailers are the active intermediariesbetween primary producers and manufacturers on the one hand and consumers on theother and as such they can be seen to be in a singularly powerful position to drivesustainable consumption in three ways namely through their own actions, throughpartnerships with suppliers and through their daily interactions with consumers.Durieu (2003), for example, argues that large retailers “can greatly influence changes inproduction processes and consumption patterns and are well positioned to exertpressure on producers in favour of more sustainable choices.”

Food retailing is by far the largest sector within the UK retail economy and Mintel(2008) estimated that in 2007 total UK consumer spending on food and drink wasrunning at £106.5 billion with 71.7 per cent being spent on food and non-alcoholicdrinks and the remaining 28.3 per cent being spent on alcoholic drinks and tobaccoproducts. In many ways food retailing is in the vanguard/can be seen to have a majorrole to play in promoting sustainable consumption. The UK’s food retailers collectivelyaccount for almost 50 per cent by value of all retail sales (Mintel, 2008) and the vastmajority of consumers visit food retail outlets on an almost daily basis. At the sametime UK food retailing is extremely concentrated with a very small number of majorplayers dominating the marketplace so much so that the top ten food retailersaccounted for 83 per cent of all food retailers sales and just four of these, namely Tesco,J. Sainsbury, Asda and Wm. Morrison had a massive 63 per cent market share (seeTable I). The UK Sustainable Development Commission (2008), for example, hasargued that:

Company Market share (%)

Tesco 31.5J. Sainsbury 16.1Asda 15.1Wm. Morrison 11.7Co-Operative Group 7.2Marks & Spencer 3.8Waitrose 3.4Spar 2.3Londis/Budgen 1.9Iceland 1.6

Source: Mintel (2008)

Table I.Market share of top tenUK food retailers 2007

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As gatekeepers of the food system, supermarkets are in a powerful position to create, agreener, healthier, fairer food system through their influence on supply chains, consumerbehaviour and their own operations.

In a similar vein the pressure group, Sustainability at Work (undated), argue that“being amongst the most powerful companies in the food chain supermarkets” have“the ability to drive changes in consumer behaviour through the choices they provideand influence within their stores.”

Within the UK government policy plays a significant role in the production, safetyand distribution of food and such issues have been steadily moving up the political andmedia agenda. During the past decade the role of the major food retailers within thefood production and distribution system has attracted increasing and often heateddebate and discussion. On the one hand the marked concentration within food retailingin the UK has increased the power of the large retailers within their supply chains(Dawson, 2004) and on the other hand it has brought them into daily contact with alarge number, and a wide cross section, of consumers. The former has given the largefood retailers greater power over producers and suppliers while the latter keeps themwell attuned to consumer behaviour and allows them to develop sophisticatedmarketing and brand loyalty strategies. Moreover the large food retailers are widelyrecognised as having a significant impact on the environment, economy and society.However, to date, despite growing opposition from a variety of organisations andpressure groups the major food retailers have proved to be very successful inavoiding/resisting strict government regulation and in driving forward continuingbusiness expansion. As an integral part of their strategies designed to resist statutoryregulation the major food retailers have been increasingly keen to emphasise theircommitment to sustainable development to government, shareholders, customers andthe general public. Such commitments are publicly captured and promoted, forexample, in the annual sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reportsthe large food retailers post on the Internet. Within these reports the major foodretailers catalogue a wide range of initiatives and achievements typically embracingclimate change, waste management and recycling, packaging, sustainable sourcing,animal welfare, supplier relationships, supporting local communities and economies,charitable donations, ethical trade and Fairtrade products, healthy eating and healthylifestyles, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and flexible working arrangements.That said many of their claims are contested and while Girod and Michael (2003) havestressed the role of CSR in strategic marketing arguing that it is “a key tool to create,develop and sustain differential brand names.” Jones et al. (2005) have argued thatefficiency gains are the principal drivers of CSR. However if the UK government’spolicy approach to sustainable consumption is to work “with the grain of markets”(Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2006) then the large foodretailers would appear to have a more specific and central role to play in deliveringmore sustainable patterns of consumption. This paper explores how the top ten foodretailers within the UK are communicating sustainable consumption agendas to theircustomers within stores and offers some reflections on how sustainable consumptionfits into the large food retailers’ business models.

Sustainable consumptionThe origins of the term sustainable consumption are usually traced back to the RioEarth Summit in 1992 and since then it has become an increasingly important policy

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element in national sustainable development strategies. Currently there is littleconsensus in defining sustainable consumption and it is widely recognised to be acontested concept Seyfang (2004a) which embraces “competing discourses” (Hobson,2006). While some authorities and individuals offer definitions others draw attention tothe intrinsic difficulties in constructing such a definition. A number of definitions ofsustainable consumption mirror mainstream definitions of sustainable development.The United Nations Environment Programme (1995), for example, defines sustainableconsumption as “the use of services and related products that respond to basic needsand bring a better quality of life while minimising the use of natural resources andtoxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle so asnot to jeopardise the needs of future generations.” More simply Dahl (1998) suggeststhat “sustainable consumption refers to the need to stay within the globalsustainability of resources.” However the UK Sustainable Development Commission(2004) has recognised “the difficulty of defining sustainable consumption.” Marchandand Findeli (n.d.), for example, have argued that sustainable consumption “is a goalwith uncertain boundaries” and that it has “no clear definition, nor are its implicationswell understood.” Dolan (2002) claims that existing definitions of sustainableconsumption are prescriptive in that they do not describe what consumption is butwhat it should be and Schaefer and Crane (2005) have called for a re-examination ofexisting conceptualisations of sustainable consumption in order to incorporate thesocial and cultural functions that consumption fulfils.

Jackson (2006) summarises a variety of definitions but notes that these adoptdifferent positions not only on “the extent to which sustainable consumption involveschanges in consumer behaviour and lifestyles” but also on whether sustainableconsumption implies “consuming more efficiently, consuming more responsibly orquite simply consuming less.” Jackson (2006) further argues that “the dominantinstitutional consensus” is that sustainable consumption “is to be achieved primarilythrough improvements in the efficiency with which resources are converted intoeconomic goods.” More generally a distinction can be made between “weak sustainableconsumption” and “strong sustainable consumption.” The former has been defined as“choosing products and services that either are less resource consuming, or lessburdening for the environment, or less destructive for those people actually producingthem.” Church (2009) while the latter embraces “increases in the eco-efficiency ofconsumption (often via more efficient production patterns or an efficiency friendlydesign) and fundamental changes in consumption patterns and reductions inconsumption levels in industrialised countries” (Fuchs and Lorek, 2004).

Sustainable consumption, variously defined, “has become a core policy objective ofthe new millennium in national and international arenas” (Seyfang, 2006) and as notedearlier a growing number of major retailers claim to be integrating it into their corebusiness strategies. However embedding, namely “changing mind set, informationsources, decision making processes and reporting” (Accounting for Sustainability,2010) sustainable consumption is a major challenge for large corporations (Bartlett,2009). Such a challenge which must embrace senior management commitment, a clearunderstanding of the key sustainable consumption drivers, the comprehensiveintegration of sustainable consumption not only into core business strategy but alsoeveryday decision making at all levels of the organisation and the effective monitoringand public reporting processes, represents a major cultural and operational change forretailers. Without such changes there are likely to be major difficulties in embedding

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sustainable consumption’ throughout the food supply chain. On the one hand,Sustainability at Work (n.d.) argue that “supermarkets have the power to exertexacting specifications on their suppliers which can result in high levels of waste in thefood chain or equally can work to encourage and embed sustainability.” Such issuesare attracting attention across the retail spectrum (for example see De Brito et al., 2008)and more specifically in the food supply chain (Penker, 2005). However complex factorsmay be at work here. Winter (2003), for example, warns that claims to be embeddingsustainability into the food supply chain via an emphasis on, and the encouragement,of local food supplies, in itself often seen to be a characteristic feature of a move to amore sustainable future, “requires critical scrutiny” and argues that it remains to beseen if greater reliance on local produce will “herald a more ecologically soundagricultural sector.” In a similar vein research undertaken amongst six specialist foodproducers in the Scottish/English borders by Ilbery and Maye (2004) reveals that suchlocal producers often source their inputs “from various places, often many miles fromthe place of production, and sometimes from overseas.” This in turn leads the authorsto argue that “this places a different perspective on the very notion of a short, and thussustainable, food supply chain.” On the other hand while Sustainability at Work (n.d.)argue that “food retailers have the ability to drive changes in consumer behaviourthrough the choices that they provide and influence within their stores”, majorchallenges seem to lie ahead in embedding sustainable consumption into consumers’everyday patterns of food buying behaviour. A number of factors may be at work here,not least price and “the need to integrate the sustainability message into the concept ofvalue for the consumer” (Forum for the Future, 2009) but as Seyfang (2004b) argueseven “motivated customers” who are minded to make the necessary changes to theirconsumption choices’ will find these choices constrained by the large food retailers.More pointedly Crewe (2001) suggests that “the majority of British consumers haveneither the political clout nor the financial means to mobilise against the dictates of bigretail capital.”

Method of enquiryA straightforward observational survey technique was employed in an attempt to gainsome insight into how the UK’s leading food retailers are currently trying to engagecustomers in sustainable consumption. The data collected in this survey essentiallyprovides the backbone of this study. More specifically “a walk through combiningstructured visual observation and recording” survey was undertaken by two of theauthors in the largest store operated by each of the UK’s top ten food retailers namelyTesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Wm. Morrison, Co-operative Group, Marks & Spencer,Waitrose, Spar, Londis/Budgen and Iceland (Mintel, 2008) within Cheltenham andGloucester. The stores varied considerably in size with the Tesco and Sainsbury’sstores, for example, having some 50,000 square feet of shopping space and offering awide range of food and non-food goods while the Iceland and Budgen stores had lessthan 1,000 square feet of floor space and concentrated exclusively on a relativelynarrow range of foodstuffs.

In order to provide a structured framework whilst undertaking the survey theauthors “adopted” the “shadow persona” of a two adult/two child family. Such anapproach offered two distinct advantages. First, it was simple to conceptualise, easilyexecuted and readily replicable. Second, the authors believe that it captured anaccurate picture of the ways in which messages about sustainable consumption were,

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or were not, being presented to customers within store and as such successfullycaptured the richly detailed reality of the customers’ retail experience and theirengagement with sustainable consumption at the point of sale. At the same time itlocates sustainable consumption in a dynamic retail setting and provides a viewthrough the lens of the customer which offers everyday real world insights rather thanmore general ideological perspectives. More specifically the survey systematicallyexplored the extent to which sustainable consumption messages were being used inmarketing communications on banners, posters and television screens, on the shelvesand shelf edges, on the products themselves and on information leaflets andpromotional leaflets and flyers. In an attempt to gain as full a picture as possible withina realistic time frame for the study the authors conducted the survey twice. First, inearly April 2009 and second in early June 2009, in each of the stores and the authorsspent between one and two hours in each store on each occasion. These surveysrevealed that while each of the top ten retailers seemed to be adopting a consistent setof messages about sustainable consumption within their stores there was somevariation between retailers. However the aim of the survey was not to provide adetailed comparison of the retailers but to identify broad themes and to explore howretailers are currently trying to engage customers with sustainable consumptionagendas at the point of sale.

FindingsThree general themes emerged from the survey. Firstly the dominant sets of messageswere concerned with encouraging customers to consume rather than to restrain fromconsumption or to promote sustainable consumption. All of the top ten food retailersadvertised “buy 1 get 1 free” offers. The Co-op, for example was offering a “buy one getone free” on four packs of Grolsch and Carling bottled beers. In the Tesco store thesame offer was available on Pepsi, a variety of chocolate biscuits and Quaver Crisps.The Sainsbury’s store had “buy 1 get 1 free” offers on branded ranges of sun tan lotion,shower gel, deodorant, tooth brushes, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner and babywipes and a large note at the entrance to the Morrison’s store advertised a “buy 1 get 2free” offer on large bottles of Tango orange drinks. While such promotions were notall-pervasive they can be seen to be setting the tone for customer expectations.

The majority of the top ten retailers also advertised a variety of “multiple purchasesat reduced prices” offers such as “buy any 4 for £3”, “any 2 for £2” and “buy any 3 for£5.” In the Asda store, for example, such offers were widely advertised and included“any 2 for £4” offers on fish fillets, smoked mackerel, smoked salmon and prawns.Prominent posters advertised “any 3 for £10” on up to 50 leading wines, “any 2 for £5”offers on a range of packs of cold meats and “any 3 for £3” offers on bread. In the Tescostore prominent signs advertised 15 can packs of John Smith’s beer and Carling lagerand 15 bottle packs of Becks beer which were on sale at £12 each as “any 2 for £16”and “any 3 for £20” and bottles of wine individually on sale at between £4.49 and £6.99were advertised as “any 3 for £10” and “any 6 for £19.” While the retailers can claimthat such price reductions provide value for money for their customers they can also beinterpreted as stimulating consumption. This may be particularly true for foodretailers given research which indicates that an estimated 6.7 million tons of food waste(roughly a third of all food purchased) is produced annually in the UK, most of whichcould have been eaten (WRAP, 2008). More generally the Co-op displayed a number of

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posters and shelf edge labels for a range of products exhorting customers to “try meI’m truly irresistible.”

Second, there are a limited number of messages with sustainable consumptionthemes. Marks & Spencer used a number of posters to stress its general commitment tomove to sustainable consumption. In focusing on climate change for example, aprominent poster carried the messages “we aim to make our UK and Ireland operationscarbon neutral within 5 years” and “we’ll maximise our use of renewable energy anduse offsetting only as a last resort.” Within the food section of the Marks & Spencer’sstore shelf edge labels asked “did you know over 70 per cent of our M&S foodpackaging is widely recycled” and exhort customers to “Look out for the symbol onpacks to learn more.” A large hanging banner in the Morrison’s stores advertised thecompany’s “Great Taste Less Waste” campaign and included directions to a website.This campaign includes advice on “planning”, which encourages customers to organisemeals to make the appropriate shopping lists, “storing” food correctly so that it willlast longer and on how to create delicious meals from leftovers. At the checkouts anumber of the top ten food retailers also deployed posters and displays to encouragecustomers to use reusable carrier bags. A sign at all the checkouts at the Co-op store,for example had the message “Bags are for life not just for one shopping trip” while alarge poster prominently displayed within the store advertised “The Co-operative Bag”as “the UK’s first supermarket Fairtrade cotton carrier bag” and reminded customersthat “an environmental alternative to a plastic carrier is always available.” In a similarvein posters at the checkouts at Sainsbury’s simply encouraged its customers to“remember to re-use your bags” and the company thanked them “for helping us toreduce carrier bag usage by over half.”

A number of the major food retailers also drew attention to two other elements oftenassociated with sustainable consumption, namely their Fairtrade range of productsand the importance they attach to locally sourced produce. A leaflet in the Co-op, forexample, announced that the company had “extended our support for Fairtade byadding a host of new products to our ever growing range of goods carrying theFairtrade mark” and exhorted customers to “Purchase Fairtrade today and make adifference to lives across the world.” In a similar vein a prominent poster in the centralescalator well in the Marks & Spencer’s store proclaimed that “by being a Fairtradepartner we’ll help to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in ourworldwide supply chain and local communities.” Within the Co-op store the posterswhich advertised “a great deal locally” were pervasive and an information leafletdescribed the company’s policy of sourcing products “from within 40 miles of our store,showing our commitment to your local community.”

Many of the retailers used sustainable consumption messages about specificproducts. Behind the wet fish counter in the Asda store, for example, a poster informedcustomers that “our fresh fish outlets have been certified to sell produce from wellmanaged and sustainable fisheries which meet the environmental standards of theMarine Conservation Society” and a similar poster in Waitrose carried the message“We sell fish from well managed fisheries using responsible fishing methods.” Thepackaging on the branded Young’s Mariners Pie in Iceland carried the message that“we’ve developed our fish for life programme to ensure that all of our fish isresponsibly sourced” and customers wanting to know more about the company’s work“to help conserve fish for future generations” are directed to a website. A number ofretailers also print sustainable consumption messages on food related products such as

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kitchen and toilet tissues which can be seen to b important ancillary products to foodconsumption. The packaging on Morrison’s own brand tissues, for example, carries themessage “for every tree we use we replant 3”, “100 per cent recycled environmentfriendly” and “with your help we can look after the world’s forests” and the packagingon Spar’s own label kitchen and toilet tissue informed customers that these productsare from well managed forests, controlled sources and recycled wood fibre. The Co-opalso used posters and shelf edge labels to encourage customers to “choose eco-friendly”as part of the promotion of its range of washing materials.

The third issue revealed by the survey is the lack of messages and informationabout sustainable consumption available at the point of sale within stores. In all thestores visited for the survey the overwhelmingly dominant messages concerned moneysaving offers and bargains. Messages about sustainable consumption on shelf edgesand more particularly on packaging are often written in small print underneath or atthe side of the product. While such information may be located and read by committedconsumers who positively look for products with sustainable consumption credentialsit seems unlikely that this approach will engage those customers who currently havelittle awareness or concern for such issues.

DiscussionThe findings of this exploratory survey of the top ten food retailers’ stores withinCheltenham and Gloucester revealed mixed messages in that while the leading foodretailers were providing customers with some information on sustainable consumptionthe dominant thrust of marketing communication within stores is designed toencourage consumption. The paradox is captured in a “doing the right thing” displayin the Marks & Spencer’s store which informs customers that if they “donate your oldMarks & Spencer’s clothes and soft furnishing to Oxfam and you’ll get a Marks &Spencer’s voucher for £5 when you spend £35 or more on clothing, home and beauty.”A number of issues merit discussion.

First, it is important to recognise that though the major food retailers are offeringcustomers only limited information on sustainable consumption within their storesthey are addressing a number of themes including climate change, renewable energy,recycling and re-use, waste reduction, marine resource conservation, forestrystewardship and Fair Trade. These themes are generally communicated tocustomers in store at an operational level for example, via packaging information,shelf edge labelling and leaflets. However these issues are generally addressed inisolation, and with the possible exception of Marks & Spencer, who advertise their“plan A” strategy within store, there little sense of a coherent and coordinatedapproach to communicating sustainable consumption messages or of the retailers’strategic commitment to sustainable consumption to customers in store. In some waysthis stands in marked contrast to the strategic commitments made in many of themajor food retailer’s CSR reports. Tesco, for example, stress that “our aim is to mobilisecollective action amongst customers, suppliers and employees, to help protect theenvironment and to generate a mass movement of green consumption” whileSainsbury’s “aim to be environmentally responsible in the way we run our businessand we also want to make it easy for our customers to be environmentally responsible”and Asda claims to be “doing everything we can to make sure the environment islooked after for future generations to enjoy.”

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Second, while a wide and complex set of factors influence food buying behaviour thesurvey particularly draws attention to the tension between price offers designed toencourage consumption and the more limited messages designed to foster sustainableconsumption. Price is always likely to be an important factor for the majority ofcustomers, particularly during a recession, but as Shell (2009) argues, discounted pricesmay prove to be unsustainable in that they can drive down wages, stifle innovationand lead to irreversible environmental damage. Nevertheless the major food retailers inthe UK have been very successful in developing marketing strategies built aroundcompetitive pricing. However much less is known about how consumer concerns aboutsustainable consumption influence food buying behaviour. On the one hand the majorretailers report that customers have growing concerns about a range of environmentalissues, particularly climate change, and about the source and methods of production offood and that they are increasingly looking for retailers to take significantresponsibility for addressing such issues. More independently Ipsos Mori (2008) arguethat retailers “point to increasing awareness, interest and even excitement among themainstream public on sustainability issues.” Ipsos Mori (2008) also suggest that thereis evidence that customers “are hungry for information” on the sustainability of theproducts they buy. On the other hand focus group research Owen et al. (2007)conducted for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs suggestedthat “sustainable consumption and production of food are not the kinds of issues whichparticipants think about.” Consumer Focus (2009) report that the majority ofconsumers “find it difficult to know which products are better for the environment”and conclude that in order to have more confidence in green claims customers need“clear and unambiguous language and imagery”; “realistic, accessible, verifiable andendorsed claims”; and “simple, meaningful and like-for-like comparisons.” In a similarvein Owen et al. (2007) report that the participants felt that food retailers should notonly “make sustainable choices clear” and “affordable” but they should also “reducebad offers.”

This begs the question about the most effective way retailers can use marketingcommunications within stores to encourage customers to make sustainable choices.Reisch et al. (2008), for example, warn “sustainability communication is a highlycomplex and even risky activity that needs careful strategic planning and genuinestakeholder input.” Research undertaken amongst a number of major Europeanretailers by Almaani et al. (2004) suggests that messages designed to promotesustainable consumption need “to take into consideration the average customerawareness on sustainability issues” and that “the message will be more successful if itconveys clear feel of a direct usefulness and advantage provided to the customer by thesustainable products compared to unsustainable ones.” More specifically Almaani et al.(2004) identify three key elements as being essential for retailers’ marketingcommunications campaigns for sustainable consumption namely “segmentation andtarget information”; “visibility of products and of communication”; and the need to“use changing routines to capture attention.” The first focuses on the need to “targetvery precisely the information” a retailer wants “to provide to the right group ofcustomers”; the second emphasises the “visibility of products and communication”with the accent being on “ensuring that products and communications are placed invisible spots, easily accessible and available”; while the third stresses the importanceof changing marketing communication messages regularly to continually capturecustomers’ attention.

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However, within a constantly changing and fiercely competitive businessenvironment realistically there have to be limits to the information aboutsustainable consumption the major retailers can provide in store on the vast rangeof products they offer for sale and their ability to verify such information when theyare sourcing products from a large number of suppliers and producers drawn fromoften wide geographical areas. Furthermore there are dangers that providing accurateand verifiable information for all products “drowns out the ability of consumers tomake like-for-like comparisons and ceases to provide them with any useful means ofcomparison” (Consumer Focus, 2009). A more realistic approach for the major foodretailers might be to pursue choice editing, for example by not stockingenvironmentally damaging products or by continuing to develop labelling policies,for example, with labels indicating the carbon footprint of all products within theirstores. This latter approach would be consistent with the UK government’s recent callfor the development of sustainability indicators which could see all foods carry labelsdetailing their environmental impact (Department for the Environment, Food andRural Affairs, 2009). At the same time it is important to recognise that the act ofconsumption is often divorced from the product that is being consumed and Dolan(2002) argues that conventional approaches to sustainable consumption “center on thenotion of the rational individual and his or her needs and wants, and neglect thesignificance of consumption practices as embodying the relations between individuals”and warns that “the development of sustainable consumption as a widespread practicewithin societies is more complex than change in individual values and practices.”

Third, while many retailers stress their commitment to drive a sustainabilityagenda throughout the supply chain the limited information on sustainableconsumption available to customers within stores suggests that retailers may beconcentrating their efforts on their sourcing and distribution activities and on thephysical operation of their stores. Here they have greater control and here too they canmore easily align and monitor sustainability and resource efficiency goals. In outliningits matrix of action points as part of its contribution to the European Retail Forum(Eurocommerce, 2009) Asda, for example, provides a number of detailed and timeconstrained targets for the reduction of energy consumption within its stores and waterusage within its distribution depots under the “how we sell” action point while simplyciting the company’s free magazine as the only method of providing information forcustomers under the “how we communicate” action point. If consumers are to be mademore aware of sustainable consumption choices then as Doreen Fedrigo, EuropeanUnion Policy Co-ordinator for the European Environment Bureau, argues “visiblechange is needed on supermarket and shop shelves and in advertising messages”(European Environment Bureau, 2009).

Fourth, there are issues about the power of the retailers in constructing sustainableconsumption agendas. While some of the major food retailers explicitly stress theircommitment to sustainable consumption and others imply such commitment, they canbe seen to be collectively constructing their own definition of the concept. Such adefinition is built around business efficiency and the search for competitive advantageand is driven as much by business imperatives as by a concern for sustainability. Inmany ways this position was epitomised by Sir Terry Leahy, the Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Tesco, in his “Foresight” contribution at the start of a Global Coca-ColaRetailing Research Council Forum (2009) report, who argued that his company “isseeking to create a movement which shows that it is possible to consume, to be green

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and to grow”. Such a construction certainly resonates with Jackson’s (2006) emphasison improvements in efficiency and makes little or no mention of consuming less. Whilethe major food retailers might claim to be pursuing agendas that are socially ascribed,in that such agendas generally, but not universally, strike a chord with consumers,they favour voluntary action and consistently baulk at, and often actively resist,statutory regulation. At the same time while all the major retailers generally claim tobe listening and responding to their customers, the survey suggests that some retailersare reluctant to provide customers with the detailed information at the point of salethat would allow them to take responsibility for sustainable consumption through theirindividual purchasing decisions. Thus the UK’s major food retailers echo thesentiments of European Retail Forum that sustainable consumption is about “showingleadership on environmental sustainability” while “ensuring innovation andcompetitiveness” and about “how best to advance sustainable consumption, whilstensuring innovation and competitiveness of the sector” (Eurocommerce, 2009).

Finally, this in turn raises broader and more fundamental issues about the efficacyof promoting sustainable consumption while maintaining growth and about economicgrowth itself. On the one hand Department for the Environment, Food and RuralAffairs (2006) suggests that “the central challenge” of the UK governments sustainabledevelopment strategy is “to break the link between economic growth andenvironmental impacts.” On the other hand Reisch et al. (2008) for example, notethat although moving towards sustainable consumption is a major policy agenda,“growth of income and material throughput by means of industrialisation and massconsumerism remains the basic aim of western democracy.” Reisch et al. (2008) furtherargue that “rather than controlling consumption, recycling materials and increasingproduction efficiency have tended to be the dominant means supposed to decoupleenvironmental degradation from economic growth” and they conclude that “the policyagenda on sustainable consumption is in danger of becoming a merely rhetoricalreflection of concern.” Jackson (2009) emphasises the importance of distinguishingbetween “relative” and “absolute” decoupling with the former referring to the decline ofresource impacts relative to growth and the latter signifying an absolute decline insuch impacts. While the major retailers generally claim to support the relativedecoupling through their commitments to efficiency, they currently show littleenthusiasm for absolute decoupling which Jackson (2009) believes “is essential ifeconomic activity is to remain within ecological limits.” Jackson (2009) concludes hisdiscussion of “the myth of decoupling” arguing that “it is entirely fanciful to supposethat deep emission and resource cuts can be achieved without confronting the structureof market economies.” This, in turn, echoes Dolan’s (2002) belief that “the goal ofsustainable consumption needs to be seen as a political project, recognising the powerrelations between social groupings and between cultural value system” and hiswarning that “this is the context within which the idea of sustainability will stand orfall.”

ConclusionThe exploratory survey reported in this paper revealed that the UK’s top ten foodretailers were offering their customers limited information in store to enable them toengage with sustainable consumption or to allow such information to guide theirshopping behaviour and this, in turn would seem to suggest these food retailers are, atbest, pursuing a “weak” model of sustainable consumption. However in some ways

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despite the major food retailers’ public commitment to sustainable consumption thismodel is consistently being undermined by the dominant thrust of their marketingmessages within stores, which are designed to encourage consumption. At the sametime the paper argues that the major food retailers’ definitions of, and commitments tosustainable consumption (and sustainable development) can be interpreted as beingdriven as much by business imperatives as by commitments to sustainability. Morespecifically it might be argued that the major food retailers are constructing anddisseminating sustainable consumption agendas, which are driven by their owncommercial goals. More generally the major food retailers’ strategic managementthinking and decision making is consistently informed, and increasingly driven by theneed to move to sustain their business in a competitive and increasingly difficulttrading environment. Thus the accent is upon efficiency gains across a wide range ofeconomic, social and environmental issues rather than on maintaining the viability andintegrity of natural ecosystems and on reducing demands on finite natural resources.More critically the authors suggest that the large food retailers’ commitments tosustainable consumption are couched within existing business models centred oncontinuing growth and that they are little more than genuflections to sustainableconsumption and that they effectively and conveniently ignore the fact that the presentpatterns of consumption are simply not sustainable. As such the UK’s major foodretailers seem likely to continue to attract potentially increasingly vocal and sustainedcriticism from those who are exercised about what Jackson (2009) has described as “anemerging ecological crisis that is likely to dwarf the existing economic crisis.”

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Corresponding authorPeter Jones can be contacted at: pjones@glos.ac.uk

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