Sustainable Red Herrings

[Development Crossing]

Mark Price, managing director for Waitrose, brings up several interesting points in an article today in the Guardian, ranging from the never-ending plastic bag debate to the ethics of conducting business in Zimbabwe. A few points include:

"Waitrose is constantly under scrutiny about how many carrier bags we use and how far our food travels - certainly relevant questions. Yet I am hardly ever quizzed about the single biggest contributor to our carbon footprint: refrigeration, which accounts for 60% of our energy requirements. Refrigeration is never going to grab headlines, but we are investing £55m over five years to ensure that ours is more efficient."

"The fact is that being truly ethical is never easy. Earlier this year, Waitrose was condemned for its decision to source tilapia fish from Zimbabwe. However, the farm provides work for up to 450 people, pays more than the minimum wage, and provides pensions, healthcare and HIV counselling."

Read the full article here. Visit Waitrose's blog here.

[Thomas Bertrand]

He brings up a good point regarding Zimbabwe. Many companies operate and have been criticized for working in Zimbabwe but i guess when they do positive projects like this it is indeed a good thing. "Being truly ethical is never easy" is certainly a good point, you can't please everyone, but then who's needs should they focus on, customers or the communities, or struggle to find a way to please both?

[Roger Tompkins]

I think it's a tough answer for companies. I obviously think they should be doing the best for the communities and the environment but at the end of the day they want to make money as well, so they have to please their cusotmers. To be honest, I never even thought of the whole refrigeration aspect and how it accounts for 60% of the energy used. You don't hear many people complaining about that though, it's more the tangible aspects like plastic bags.