Tesco and the WWF last week announced a tie up to start measuring how sustainable a consumer's basket is.
Each product in the basket will be marked against the following sustainability criteria:
- Climate change (25%)
- Deforestation (20%)
- Sustainable diets (15%)
- Sustainable agriculture (12%)
- Food waste (10%)
- Marine sustainability (10%)
Typical products measured will be items such as potatoes, bananas and bread.
They released a joint statement saying:
''Tesco and WWF today announced a ground-breaking, long-term partnership² with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of the average UK shopping basket by 50%, improving the sustainability of food while ensuring it remains affordable for all³.
Food production is at the centre of key environmental issues, including climate change and biodiversity loss, as was clearly set out in WWF’s recent Living Planet Report 2018.
Working together, Tesco and WWF want to address these issues, focusing on three key areas of activity:
Helping customers eat more sustainable diets;
Restoring nature in food production;
Eliminating food and packaging waste from the sector.''
This is a great example of caring capitalism form Tesco and I hope other suppliers and retailers will follow suit. Many consumers want to become more sustainable, but need help from both business and the government, if we are to achieve a truly sustainable consumer society in the UK going forward.
Source: https://www.tescoplc.com/news/2018/tesco-and-wwf-join-forces-to-make-food-more-sustainable/