Miljøprojekt, 1015 – Miljødialog mellem den internationale detailhandel og deres leverandører

Miljødialog mellem den internationale detailhandel og deres leverandører

Summary and conclusions

The overall objective of this project was to summarise the current trends in the environmental dialogue between retailers/grocers and food producers. The analysis is based on data from a workshop with relevant Danish actors, a desk study and four case studies of the environmental dialogue between international retailers and their suppliers. The case studies include Royal Ahold, ÆON, Sainsbury and Casino.

The findings of the study can be summarised as follows:

For the last 10-15 years, the international food market has been characterised by globalisation and concentration of the actors. This means bigger retail chains, fewer and bigger suppliers, and a market that goes beyond national borders.
The globalisation of the retail market and the food scandals in recent years have made the international retail chains focus more on risk management.
Private labels are one of the tools used by the international retail chains to control the market, but they also allow retail chains to cooperate closely with suppliers. Private labels guarantee that the supplier meets specific standards for environment and work conditions – and there is a trend that these aspects are being audited by third parties.
The desk study and case studies identify three different ways of cooperation between retail chains and their suppliers: First, the Code of Conduct, often involving third party audits. Secondly, close dialogue between retailers and suppliers, e.g. through development contracts over several years. Thirdly, the situation where the retail chain is offering training to certain suppliers.
In the major retail chains such as Ahold, Aeon and Wal*Mart, the environment is considered a natural part of business, in line with corporate social responsibility – CSR. The chains do not publish environmental reports, but sustainability reports.
The retail chains see themselves as the face of the entire food chain sector.
LCA analyses are not in focus amongst the international retail chains.
Electronic product information systems are developing rapidly amongst the retail chain. This will have consequences for the information flow between supplier and retailers – also when it comes to environmental information.