Every year in the UK 18 million tonnes of edible food ends up in landfill: one third from the supply chain, one third from retail and one third from households. All in all, it adds up to a value of a staggering £23 billion.

Although a change in behaviour is needed, how can we expect millions of people to start making consumption decisions and lifestyle changes that are good (or less detrimental) for our planet – resulting in less waste and less CO2 – when the same people are not yet actively looking after their own health?

I believe we are just about to leave the Middle Ages when it comes to fully translating the demands of sustainability, applied to both our own health and the eco-system, to effective marketing plans aimed at the final consumer worldwide.

If indeed the ice on the North Pole is melting and certain animals will be extinct as a result, what will we say to our children when they ask if we were not aware of the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere in order to produce and transport the products we buy at the local store?

Retailers should make it much easier, for those who really care, to make buying decisions that promote sustainability by fitting a small screen and scanning device to each shopping cart revealing the source of the product, its nutritional values, and whether this product is good for the planet and good for you.

If we look to increase sales and profits regardless of the impact on the environment we are not adapting and we will see future generations and species surviving instead of thriving. Remember Darwin: It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.

Often a good example is what is needed for people to change their behaviour, not only the final consumer but also people like you and me working in a B2B industry.

I find the people at US-based Whole Foods Market to be an excellent example, because they promote both healthy eating and locally grown products; precisely the combination we need to fight both climate change and the obesity epidemic.

How fair is it to hand over a damaged ecosystem to our children and grandchildren? I found myself nodding in agreement with Prince Charles when he voiced his opinions on climate change recently, saying: “We don’t, in a sensible world, want to hand on an increasingly dysfunctional world to our grandchildren, to leave them with the real problem. I don’t want to be confronted by my future grandchild and [have] them say: ‘Why didn’t you do something?’” —