Asda's head of ethical and sustainable sourcing, Chris Brown, argued against a carbon footprint marque on groceries and said that the supermarket wanted to “get closer to growers”.
Speaking at a BASF debate entitled ‘Sustainability, Agriculture and Consumer: Implications for trade and industry’ held at Fruit Logistica, Brown said that Asda wants the relationship between growers, consumers and retailers to get closer and does not believe that a carbon footprint marque on fruit and vegetables will help general understanding of the environmental situation.
“The media interest in measuring the carbon footprint started around two years ago and Asda looked into the amount of carbon that was used in five different categories of
groceries, of which one item was potatoes, to see where the hot spots were,” he explained to delegates.
“Some 60 per cent of the carbon footprint is created within the farm gate - although a lot of people are very interested in my big stores and big trucks.
“It is the farmer that you have to start with - and this should be a consideration for growers wanting to go carbon neutral.”
As the debate heated up, Brown, inset, said: “I don’t believe a marque for the carbon footprint would work in the UK with the current supply chain. It changes on a weekly basis, as trucks have to come from different places. We could do a calculation for the whole of the UK, but that would not help anyone.”
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