Asda bags the title of 'least eco-friendly' supermarket in UK

Published on Sunday 8 November 2009 21:40

ASDA is the least environmentally friendly of all the major supermarkets, a study has concluded.

The sustainability gap between the best and worst performing supermarkets is growing, according to Consumer Focus.

Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer made the biggest leaps by achieving the first ever overall "excellent" scores. But Tesco showed no progress since 2007, while Asda moved down ratings to the foot of the table alongside budget stores Aldi and Lidl.

An Asda spokesman dismissed the findings.

"I am supportive of Consumer Focus; in fact we are the only retailer working alongside them on a hugely important three-year project focusing on how we can help customers to make green choices," he said.

"And yet the report rates us lower than the supermarkets who are not working with them. In this report they have walked around one of our shops then made sweeping statements on our overall corporate policy."

The Co-operative was found to be selling the highest proportion of fairly-traded products among its own brands than any of its rivals.

Lucy Yates, sustainability expert at Consumer Focus, said: "We challenge all supermarkets to follow in the footsteps of their better rivals and help their customers – whatever their budget – to shop green.

"For example, this means helping consumers spot and buy UK seasonal produce such as spinach and courgettes through money-off promotions or recipe ideas. Shopping green should not be hard. Our survey shows that when a grocer has the will to respond to consumer pressure on green issues, this works through to the shop floor.

"Saying you have a sustainable fish sourcing policy is not enough – consumers must be able to find sustainable fish on the shelves."

The UK's top nine supermarket chains were ranked on sustainability measures such as their offerings of British in-season fruit and vegetables, organics, higher welfare meat and eggs and sustainably-sourced fish.

The survey looked not just at availability in the store but also how clearly these products were displayed and promoted to consumers in-store. The supermarkets were also rated on how much they encourage recycling.

Consumer Focus is calling on all supermarkets to respond to consumer pressure and make their sustainable policies visible in the store.

It says that if supermarkets are serious about sustainability, they should stock a high proportion of green products and signpost sustainable issues at all points of customer contact, whether in the store, their website or through their helpline to help customers make green choices.

Justin King, chief executive at Sainsbury's, said: "Our position at the top of this league table underlines our ongoing commitment to helping customers shop ethically, while at the same time providing great value."