Retailers, suppliers and consumers need to work more closely together to achieve greater sustainability following the publication of a new report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which said that households should play an important role in the battle against global warming by eating less meat and using fewer toiletries.
With the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference due to take place in Glasgow next month, FMCG and retail specialist Bridgethorne has suggested that a new a contract needs to be formed within which all parties play different roles: governments for policy, targets and investment; retailers to educate and enforce and to work with suppliers who will innovate across the entire value and supply chain, and consumers to buy sustainably.
“It feels like for many people the responsibility for sustainability has always lay with someone else, perhaps global corporations or governments,” said John Nevens, Joint Managing Director, Bridgethorne.
“Consumers have been permitted to exercise ‘free will’ when it comes to the environment, though increasingly we are taking individual responsibility for our own roles in protecting the planet through small changes: eating a bit less meat; choosing sustainable energy sources; switching off lights, using fewer plastic bags.”
But, Nevens continues, retailers have been similarly constructive in their response: “Tesco implemented a plan to cut plastic waste in 2019, since when it claims it has taken a billion pieces of plastic from its UK business and will reduce another half a billion this year. Similarly, Sainsbury’s has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2040, with a focus on helping shoppers enjoy food that is healthier and more environmentally friendly. The long and short of it is we can no longer afford a chink in the armour. Retailers, suppliers and consumers need to work as one.”
Each year, plastic packaging waste generation in the UK amounts to approximately 2.2 million metric tons – an average of 20.42 kilograms of plastic packaging was collected per household in the UK in 2019. Deloitte recently reported that avoiding single-use plastics is the most common way consumers demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, with 61% saying they had cut back. A focus on seasonality (49%) and buying local goods (45%) were the next biggest areas of focus. Ethical and sustainability issues remain a key driver for almost a third of consumers, who claim to have stopped purchasing certain brands due to related concerns.
“But even this may not be enough,” said Nevens. “The problem is too deep set now, too profound to be ignored even by the naysayers. We are now less than a month away from COP 26 and now, the responsibility lies with us all: government, retailers, suppliers, and consumers.”
