Green watchdog urges store reform

By Roger Harrabin
BBC News environment analyst

Supermarkets are already subject to dozens of policy areas

An over-arching policy on supermarkets is needed if the government is to meet targets on obesity, waste and climate change, an independent report has said.

The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) report suggests the food chain contributes about one-fifth of total UK greenhouse gas emissions.

It admits supermarkets are improving performance in many ways, but calls for clear government policy guidance.

The British Retail Consortium said chains were dealing with the issues.

The SDC accepts there is a need to put the responsibility on to government to create clear policy guidance so the retail giants can decide where their priorities should lie.

The report suggests the food chain contributes around one-fifth of total UK greenhouse gas emissions when the impact of fertilisers, transport, processing and rotting waste is taken into account.

It also quotes from a study which claims food is a family's biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Food-related greenhouse gas emissions

And the SDC blames stores for exacerbating global poverty and promoting unhealthy lifestyles.

Professor Tim Lang, the report¿s main author, told BBC News: "When we go shopping, I don't think we really recognise the enormous impact our food is having on the environment.

"It... has an impact on our health, the energy use, how we get there - everything that matters is actually happening beyond our control, but government's got to get grip of that."

The report follows the publication on Friday of the Competition Commission's review of British supermarkets.

It has recommended measures to stop chains restricting who can buy land they have sold off and the creation of an ombudsman to resolve disputes between supermarkets and their suppliers.

Jane Milne from the British Retail Consortium said: "There is a lot happening among all the major supermarkets in helping address healthy eating, in meeting the climate change challenge, in dealing with waste and all of these issues.

"But in order for all of that to happen we need some help from government as well."

Points of tension

The SDC acknowledges that supermarkets have moved towards producing healthier meals with lower fat and salt, but complains that they still promote two-for-one offers on junk food like doughnuts.

This may be helpful to people with large families on low incomes but it also encourages people to over-eat or to throw food away.

IMPACT OF FOOD 5.2m tonnes food-related packaging generated each year in the UK 6.7m tonnes food waste created each year by UK homes Agriculture globally consumes 70% of all freshwater for human use Proportion of men classified as obese has increased from 13% to 22% Economic cost of obesity to the UK economy estimated at £10bn a year Source: Sustainable Development Commission

It says the government must not sidestep points of tension - like the desire to promote the eating of fish at a time when global fish stocks are in decline.

It says a policy to "aim purely for quantity of supply or cheapness at all costs would be hopelessly inadequate".

The government has previously wondered whether it is necessary to devise a policy for supermarkets specifically.

However, the SDC says it has discovered that supermarkets are already affected by 19 Whitehall departments.

These cover almost 100 policy areas and responsibilities from animal welfare and congestion charging to planning, diet and nutrition.

It would help the supermarkets if ministers could offer one coherent policy.

The SDC was particularly critical of the failure of the Department for Transport to produce polices that cut emissions from deliveries and shopping trips.

It says existing difficulties with enforcing current regulations - such as on excess packaging - need to be addressed urgently.

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