15 Oct 2007


Print	Email

Good, but not green enough, survey tells supermarkets

Tesco

Asda

Somerfield

Waitrose

Sainsbury's

National Consumer Council

green-retail

Despite the big supermarkets showing plenty of signs of becoming more environmentally friendly, a new survey says they need to do more.

Asda: Going green should not cost more

Sainsbury's, Waitrose and M&S are named the three most eco-friendly big food chains in the new report by the National Consumer Council with all eight retailers surveyed showing an overall improvement compared to last year.

However, none performed well across the board.

Tesco and Asda were awarded a C grade – an improvement from their D grade last year - while Morrisons, Somerfield and the Co-Op received D grades.

Asda was singled out for its Smart Price value fish fingers, made from sustainably-sourced Pollock. The NCC also praised Morrisons and Tesco for selling energy efficient light bulbs at low prices, while Asda Co-op and Somerfield had all increased the proportion of in-season vegetables sourced from the UK.

Larry Whitty, Chair of the NCC, said: "NCC's research has spotted important signs of progress right across the market, with all stores now beginning to embrace sustainability.

"But much remains to be done if supermarkets are to become truly green grocers."

The NCC is calling on major supermarkets to bring in a raft of improvements to become more eco-friendly, including sourcing more UK seasonal fruit and vegetables, selling more low-cost energy-saving light bulbs, encouraging shoppers to reuse carrier bags and using more recycled materials in packaging.

Asda chief executive Andy Bond claimed the research backed up his group's view that sustainable products did not have to cost the earth.

Bond said he believed prices did not have to rise as a result of adopting more environmentally friendly policies businesses could actually save money by going green and use the savings to lower prices for customers.

This is in sharp contrast to rival Terry Leavy, Tesco chief executive, who was recently reported as claiming that prices rises may be necessary to deliver a “revolution in green consumption.”

Email this to a friend



Anonymous	20 Nov 2007 11:53:47
i would like to know if supermarkets are green enough and as far as i know they are not except from a view for e.g.(waitrose) this is green enough and we need to inprove it more and do it better. thankyou

Anonymous	07 Feb 2008 20:36:46
I think on the whole the majority of supermarkets are trying to go greener and it doesn't have to bump up the price if you go greener. there is still work to be done but generally supermarkets are trying to use less plastic bags, less imported food .etc

Anonymous	17 Mar 2008 11:53:40
First i would like to thank the cheif exucetive of asda and i want to say that asda need some sport shop section in every asda

Anton Ferri	03 Jun 2008 09:23:18
Tescos is one of the worst offenders , building on green sites, ripping the hearts out of towns, adding to fuel miles , poor employers - n really they are in spite of share options , they are not great .... bring tehm to book.

gabby	19 Jun 2008 13:32:23
i think there is alot more that can be done such as cutting down on food miles by growing more vegatables nearer

Alice Simmons	25 Jun 2008 12:55:05
I have been reading up about Tesco' and they i beleive are absolute horrors.We always shop at Waitrose or Sainsburys and use reusable bags.

tina	27 Jun 2008 11:32:47
supermarkets are not green and need more

jamo	03 Jul 2008 13:44:24
supermarkets are not green enough!

chloe	18 Jul 2008 16:13:47
I feel that although supermarkets are being better, they are not being green enough. Most of their sources and scemes are bias.