Supermarkets perform patchily

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The UK’s eight biggest supermarkets are making headway on corporate responsibility but their overall performance is patchy, says the National Consumer Council.

The council’s first ‘consumer-focused’ rating of supermarkets on CSR factors tested the eight on various indicators, including their commitment to stocking seasonal food and organics, their sustainable sourcing policies and their attempts at cutting waste.

It found that, while there have been ‘real improvements in some areas’, not one supermarket is doing well on all fronts.

Waitrose was best overall, rated as B, followed by Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury (C), Asda, the Co-op and Tesco (D), and Morrisons and Somerfield (E). None of the retailers were rated as A, the highest category.

The performance of Tesco and Asda, the two biggest, was ‘disappointing’.

More than 150 food industry, government and civil society representatives convened in London earlier this month to discuss how they might work together on social and environmental issues facing the sector.

Sponsored by Tetra Pak, the Sustainable Food Industry Summit was organized by the food and grocery research body IDG