A sense of responsibility is more than just a trend, it is a way to improve the social and environmental impact of your business, reposition brand values and stand out on the shelf.
This badge is next on the list of must-haves for fresh produce circles, now that businesses worldwide have come through the worst of the economic downturn and forward thinkers have been busy reshuffling their priorities in response to the changing and increasingly competitive retail landscape.
Today, high quality and value for money are a given but consumers are asking for more. Study after study has shown that shoppers don’t buy in the way they used to and more than ever, the pressure is on fresh produce businesses to prove the credentials that set them apart from the pack.
Not surprisingly, this isn’t just about being seen as Mr Nice Guy and a major catalyst has been the realisation that taking a responsible approach can often help save on costs.
However, as Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King admitted in the retailer’s latest corporate responsibility report, “the right thing to do is rarely clear cut” and he recognised that it is “also an agenda that is constantly evolving”.
But many have been working on this agenda behind the scenes over the last 18 months, outlining policies and taking small steps in the right direction while at the same time working out how to handle it with all eyes on price.
Now, the scene is set for corporate responsibility to make a comeback and ironically, insiders see this as the new battleground for those who want to differentiate themselves.
Taking responsibility means everything from keeping up sound agricultural practices to looking after all the individuals that make up a business, while monitoring the wider industry’s impact on the environment and communities across the world.
Cynics have been quick to question the longevity of such commitments, but major players from across the supply chain are putting in place strategies, starting up projects and in some cases, hiring people to oversee the whole concept alongside the day-to-day running of the business.
In fact, the latest Top of Mind survey released by The Consumer Goods Forum in the spring ranks corporate social responsibility in second place (38 per cent), having moved up a notch from last year and only coming behind concerns over the economy and consumer demand (50 per cent). The competitive landscape (33 per cent), food and product safety (32 per cent) and retailer-supplier relations (30 per cent) complete the top five.
The priorities of the 345 key decision-makers across 46 countries studied for the survey prove that their concerns are shifting in the aftermath of the recession.
Jean-Marc Saubade, managing director of The Consumer Goods Forum, insists that the emphasis on corporate social responsibility is “here to stay”.
“These findings demonstrate that faced with a discount mindset that may prevail beyond the recession, the consumer goods industry has recognised this prime opportunity to inspire consumers again,” he says. “Consumers now expect high quality at low prices and the drive to meet their needs is fostering tremendous innovation from brands and in retail formats. Meanwhile, it is encouraging to see that corporate responsibility has not only withstood the pressures of the economic crisis, but has risen up the rankings this year - proof that its influence on the corporate agenda is here to stay.”
Nowhere is any competition fiercer than on the retail scene and this applies to ethics as well as everything else.
Marks & Spencer has made much of its ambitious Plan A, which it launched three years ago with the aim of achieving 100 commitments in five years. This has since been ammended to 180 promises by 2015, with the goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable major retailer.
The latest report in June claimed that the initiative is on track, with highlights including work towards 75 per cent of its fresh produce being pesticide residue-free by 2015 on schedule, alongside its goal to increase Fairtrade fruit availability. The chain has achieved the year-round sale of UK carrots and reduced packaging in its food category by 20 per cent, as well as improving the use of recycled and recyclable materials in its fresh produce packaging.
This came after Sainsbury’s released its annual corporate responsibility report, in which the number-three retailer gave a rundown of its progress, from running frequent promotions on seasonal fruit and vegetables, making sure that a quarter of the 69 million tip cards printed in the last 12 months feature at least one of the recommended 5 A DAY and maintaining its position as the top retailer of English apples to being named the largest retailer of Fairtrade in the world and setting up local charity partnerships for every store.
In the report, chair of the corporate responsibility committee, Anna Ford, insisted that the retailer’s approach was not just an “add-on” and she stressed that even though the last 12 months have been hard on families, “our customers are just as interested as they ever were in health, the environment, Fairtrade, responsible sourcing and sustainable sourcing” and she admitted that “the bar has, if anything, been raised” as many ethical issues have become mainstream.
These issues sit comfortably hand in hand with the fresh produce offer, with growers keen to tell their story and suppliers eager to show how fruit and vegetables make their way from field to fork, while retailers have been able to pass this information onto the consumer.
The fresh produce sector, as a whole, is better placed than many to show itself at its best when it comes to taking responsibility, but the fact that ethics are back to being key concerns for firms, and major retailers are racing to show what they are working on, proves that there is always room for improvement.
So what’s next for the fresh produce industry in its search for responsible credentials? Watch this space.
“MERCENARIES AND MISSIONARIES” IN BRAZIL
Brazilian firm Agrícola Famosa has an extensive support structure for its workers, in some of the poorest parts of the South American country.
The firm claims to be the largest melon producer in the world, with 20,000 hectares spread over Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte and will provide 5,000 jobs this season.
Carlo Porro, co-founder and commercial director, says the company aims to give employees “fruits for a better life” and has become a mix of “mercenaries and missionaries”, by making a profit but at the same time supporting workers.
“This is the most important point in our activities,” he insists. “We can help change a poor and miserable scenario by providing jobs, by giving an education and night schooling [pictured below] for adults to teach them to read and write. The second generation of our workers are, in many cases, now agronomists.
“When you buy our melons, this is what you are supporting and this is a message that we would like to get across. We are not subsidised, we are a viable business but what we need to build is consumption.”
The list of benefits that the firm gives workers includes access to a doctor and dentist, a course in hygiene, and free breakfast, lunch and dinner.
These run alongside other initiatives such as campaigns that are anti-alcohol, drugs and domestic violence.
“All these make up one of the most important parts of the job,” says Porro. “This is what drives us. Social conscience has come out of the UK, as it was the supermarkets that started to demand this kind of social attitude and we have taken this very seriously.
“Ten years ago or so, we started investing in this side of things and even though it initially cost us money, we have seen our company get better - it is not a cost, it is a profit because it makes people want to work better and stay with our company.”
A RESPONSIBLE TAKE ON BUSINESS
Produce World has come up with a comprehensive corporate responsibility plan to stretch across the group, which takes in well-known fresh produce names Marshall Bros, Rustler Produce, Solanum, Isleham Fresh Produce and RB Organic, writes Anna Sbuttoni.
The four-pronged strategy covers environmental stewardship, community, workplace culture and responsible sourcing, laid down three years ago and defined when the firm relaunched its business values 18 months ago.
The group has so far produced two corporate sustainability reports, with the third set for release in November.
Subsidiary RB Organic has embraced change to meet the corporate responsibility agenda, with group environmental manager Adele Carroll, group HR director David Frost and RB Organic factory manager Katie Stark leading the charge.
“As a business, we have had to learn about the corporate responsibility and constantly review it,” says Frost. “It is about taking care of the business, our employees, our customers and the growers, who we see as our partners.
“We don’t see corporate responsibility as a standalone department being run by a separate manager or team - instead, we see it as an umbrella that spans across several disciplines including HR, environmental management, health and safety and the supply chain.
“We are trying to adopt the practices of the major fast-moving consumer goods firms such as Unilever - we need to get the fresh produce industry into that world. Our vision is to be the leader in the pack.”
In fact, the four pillars are the foundations of how the business responds to its responsibilities, from the waste, water and energy efficiencies that have improved practices on the ground to the revamp of the employee appraisal system and the creation of a Leadership Academy to train managers, as well as projects that extend into the local community, including link-ups with local schools.
Teams made up of representatives from every level help make decisions within the business, including a group that helped redefine the company values and five environmental teams, which meet regularly to swap best practice about how to take forward the green agenda.
On top of this, Produce World chief executive William Burgess hosts a series of informal lunches throughout the year so that he can keep in touch with employees at every level of the business.
The combined efforts have seen the firm make the shortlist for next month’s IGD Food Industry Award for Environmental Sustainability, up against the likes of heavyweights Tesco, The
Co-operative, The Kenco Coffee Company and Proctor & Gamble.
This comes after the group picked up the Ethical Corporation’s Innovative Reporting Award for its Credit 360 system, which allows “warts and all” access to performance measures including carbon dioxide emissions, water and energy use, accident rates and employee turnover.
At the time, Burgess said: “It is especially satisfying to be included alongside major brands and shows what can be achieved by an own-label company in a low-margin sector on a shoestring budget.
“We are committed to sustainability, but not by simply throwing money at the problem. Some companies would invest in a wind turbine and think that they have done their bit. We haven’t gone down that route, but we believe that the measures we are taking are much more long term and will really make a difference.”
The overarching corporate responsibility strategy has developed from what started out just three years ago as a focus on making the business greener and saving on costs.
At the time, Carroll had her work cut out to build a strategy from scratch and introduce the group’s first-ever environmental management system. The project started by going back to basics and from a set of simple changes that saved £156,000, the project gained momentum.
“We identified where we were wasting and how we could improve, like closing the refrigerator door, switching off lights and machinery and fixing water leaks,” Carroll explains. “At the same time, we identified what we could reuse or recycle to take more out of the landfill system.
“Then we started working with the Carbon Trust to carry out energy audits and we have since set up environmental teams, made up of representatives from every level of the business. Things went from here, and we have built our corporate social responsibility system around environmental management.
“We are not just paying lip service to this,” she stresses. “I never envisaged that it would blow up like this, I only came into the business as an environmental manager and now we have the four pillars under our corporate responsibility strategy.
“At the other end of it, we are telling the story now because we have recognised that there are all kinds of benefits to what we have done. When I joined in October 2007, I had a blank piece of paper. The business had a vision and as a group, realised that environmental legislation was coming up behind the likes of health and safety. I went around the business units looking for areas for improvement in waste, water and energy. To underline the strategy, we introduced an environmental management system that is accredited to ISO14001. This has given us something to build on because without it, we just would have had a lot of fragmented activities.
“But it is really important to make changes visual, as people need to be able to come in and see what we are doing so it starts to tell a story. That is what we have managed to achieve here, but it is an ongoing process and we are always reviewing what we are working on.”
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