Tesco misses the mark

Tesco is said to be dropping the carbon labelling that it displayed so prominently on many of its products. This was a groundbreaking scheme for a monster of the retail sector. Where did it all go wrong?

Marketing Week reports that Tesco’s move reflects “disappointment” that more supermarkets didn’t follow suit. But this isn’t a blame game of Tesco showing leadership and others failing to follow. Plenty of activity is going on to communicate product sustainability to consumers, whether it’s the mass of Fairtrade labels in Sainsbury’s and the Co-op, free-range-egg labelling on Hellman’s mayonnaise and McDonald’s paper bags, or the pictures of smiling, eco-friendly farmers on pots of Yeo Valley, on the meat in Waitrose and on the KitKat wrapper. Retailers and Brands are talking to consumers; they’re just talking in a different way to Tesco.

The fact of the matter is that many consumers don’t fully understand what a carbon footprint is, let alone feel informed to make a decision based on a “360g CO2” label on their orange juice. We need a clearer message about the products on Tesco’s shelves. That could mean more recognised labels such as Fairtrade, Red Tractor, Freedom Food or even the new WindMade sign. But even better would be embedding sustainability into the brand so that consumers trust that what they’re buying meets a certain standard. Hats off to M&S, there. Tesco was right to think that consumers want supermarkets to show leadership, but its attempt to engage them in that conversation missed the mark.

Green Snow

It is that time of year again when the powder hungry amongst us start avidly checking the snow forecasts, dust off our ski boots and dream of snow covered slopes. But most of us spare little thought for the environmental impact of our ski holiday or the sustainability of our pursuit, despite skiers and snowboarders being among the first to experience the direct effects of climate change. Glaciers are retreating and snow lines are creeping higher leading resorts to use increasingly energy intensive methods of artificial snow creation.

Luckily the Ski Club of Great Britain has launched its new website that hosts an array of advice for skiers and holidaymakers on how to ‘Respect the Mountain’. They have come up with the Green Resorts Guide that assesses the environmental management systems that ski resorts are implementing in a bid to improve their environmental impact. Resorts are rated on areas such as green building policy, recycling facilities, no traffic zones and their use of green power.
The Ski Club of Great Britain is doing a stellar job of raising awareness of the environmental impact that the snowsports industry is having on and off the mountain. From encouraging tourists to take the train instead of flying, to organising seasonal ‘Spring Cleans’ to help clear up resorts, this Not-for-Profit is miles ahead of tour-operators and ski holiday companies in the race to reduce the environmental impact of snowsports.

Some other best practice models are popping up across Europe with the White Pod Resort offering a unique concept to eco-ski holidays (www.whitepod.com) and The Monte Rosa Refuge ((www.section-monte-rosa.ch) uses 90% solar power and is a cooking pot of groundbreaking environmental and energy systems

But whilst tour operators are beginning to implement measures that protect the mountain habitat they work in, and are looking for ways to reduce the overall emissions that the Alpine holiday industry creates, there is still a long way to go.