The UK’s eight biggest supermarkets are making headway on corporate
responsibility but their overall performance is patchy, says the
National Consumer Council.
The council’s first ‘consumer-focused’ rating of supermarkets on CSR
factors tested the eight on various indicators, including their
commitment to stocking seasonal food and organics, their sustainable
sourcing policies and their attempts at cutting waste.
It found that, while there have been ‘real improvements in some areas’, not one supermarket is doing well on all fronts.
Waitrose was best overall, rated as B, followed by Marks & Spencer
and Sainsbury (C), Asda, the Co-op and Tesco (D), and Morrisons
and Somerfield (E). None of the retailers were rated as A, the highest
category.
The performance of Tesco and Asda, the two biggest, was ‘disappointing’.
More
than 150 food industry, government and civil society representatives
convened in London earlier this month to discuss how they might work
together on social and environmental issues facing the sector.
Sponsored by Tetra Pak, the Sustainable Food Industry Summit was organized by the food and grocery research body IDG
