A guide for best environmental practice by supermarkets published today by the Liberal Democrat Party - How Green is Your Supermarket? - has been slammed as "nonsense" by the Freight Transport Association with other groups urging caution about some of its 26 recommendations.
Among the suggestions made by report author Norman Baker MP, Lib Dem shadow environment secretary, are calls for supermarkets to buy a certain amount of local produce and to source a certain amount from wholesale markets, to use returnable crates as standard for fresh produce and that targets for organic produce should be written into supermarket corporate policy. It also criticises the amount of lorry mileage used by supermarkets as unnecessary.
Asda, Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Morrison, Safeway, Sainsbury’s, Somerfield, Tesco and Waitrose all collaborated in the LibDem survey which recommends some startlingly simplistic solutions.
Geoff Wells, president of Liverpool Markets Tenants’ Association was sceptical on the issue of local sourcing and the achievement of LibDem recommendations to procure five per cent of produce locally and through wholesale markets in 2005 rising to 10 per cent in 2010. "It would be nice as it would make wholesale markets stronger," said Wells. "But it is not workable in practice. How can you force the supermarkets to buy from the markets?"
The Freight Transport Association has condemned the report. "These claims are nonsense," said a spokesman. "UK supermarkets have led the world in the efficiency of their logistics and distribution and the very high level of vehicle utilisation they have achieved, removing empty running as far as possible and making every journey count…The whole population relies on the supermarkets and others to deliver goods to stores all over the country with the maximum of efficiency and the minimum of cost, to the mutual benefit of retailers and their customers alike. The LibDem comments are naïve and misguided."
The British Retail Consortium has also warned against an oversimplified view of the issues surrounding logistics.
"The BRC fully supports sourcing from local producers where this works for individual retailers and we fully support any measures to help the environment," said a spokeswoman. "Most retailers source locally for some products and it would seem like a straightforward and simple option, but to rely solely on local sourcing would present problems and limit choice. The current system is efficient - delivery lorries account for only two per cent of traffic on the road…Whilst local sourcing would mean shorter journeys, it would inevitably mean more frequent journeys and so more traffic on the roads."
The BRC also highlighted the number of projects retailers are involved in to reduce packaging waste.
Stephen Errey, md of independent logistics consultant Lucidea said; "It is sometimes suggested that supermarkets should have smaller warehousing facilities situated nearer to their stores, but although this would reduce the distance their own delivery trucks go, it would increase the distance their suppliers have to go; and what's more, it would make for more journeys in smaller vehicles, which is more polluting.
"Just-in-time delivery does tend to increase transport costs, but it also reduces the amount of stock held at any one time and also reduces the risk of ending up with out-of-date-stock you can only throw away.
"What is much worse than the polluting effects of delivering to supermarkets is the polluting effect of everybody driving miles to go the supermarket themselves. A much more significant effect could be achieved by finding ways of controlling out-of-town developments and increasing the proportion of home delivery."
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