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Shoppers at Co-operative supermarkets are being polled to identify the ethical issues on which they think the retailer should concentrate.
The polling, believed to be the first by a food retailer and the largest of its kind on ethics ever undertaken in the UK, covers all 2700 stores in the country and will be much more extensive than the instore surveys normally undertaken by retailers to establish customers’ social and environmental concerns.
It seeks the views of shoppers on 21 statements relating to food quality, diet and health, environmental impact, ethical trading, community retailing, animal welfare and transparency. Those taking part are asked whether they agree or disagree with the statements and can suggest areas for improvement.
The research began last month with a direct mail shot to a million Co-op members and will eventually encompass a further three million members. Other shoppers can participate by filling out questionnaires in stores and online. The work will take place over three months, with results announced next year.
Guy McCracken, the Co-op’s chief executive of food retail, said the company wanted to ensure that ‘the ethical and environmental priorities that underpin our products will be in line with members’ concerns’.
However, most of the questions invite shoppers to support further progress on issues that the retailer is already addressing. The Co-op has also emphasized that it will not support calls for labelling systems similar to those introduced by Tesco and Marks & Spencer to identify air-freighted products, even if customers request this. It says that this type of labelling can give a false impression about the sustainability of goods.
Paul Monaghan, the Co-op’s head of ethics, who designed the survey, said ‘aeroplane labelling’, though well-intentioned, harmed farmers in developing countries.
Similar polls have been carried out in the past by the Co-operative Bank and its sister organization Co-operative Insurance, but they are still an unusual way for companies to determine their ethical priorities.
The polling, believed to be the first by a food retailer and the largest of its kind on ethics ever undertaken in the UK, covers all 2700 stores in the country and will be much more extensive than the instore surveys normally undertaken by retailers to establish customers’ social and environmental concerns.
It seeks the views of shoppers on 21 statements relating to food quality, diet and health, environmental impact, ethical trading, community retailing, animal welfare and transparency. Those taking part are asked whether they agree or disagree with the statements and can suggest areas for improvement.
The research began last month with a direct mail shot to a million Co-op members and will eventually encompass a further three million members. Other shoppers can participate by filling out questionnaires in stores and online. The work will take place over three months, with results announced next year.
Guy McCracken, the Co-op’s chief executive of food retail, said the company wanted to ensure that ‘the ethical and environmental priorities that underpin our products will be in line with members’ concerns’.
However, most of the questions invite shoppers to support further progress on issues that the retailer is already addressing. The Co-op has also emphasized that it will not support calls for labelling systems similar to those introduced by Tesco and Marks & Spencer to identify air-freighted products, even if customers request this. It says that this type of labelling can give a false impression about the sustainability of goods.
Paul Monaghan, the Co-op’s head of ethics, who designed the survey, said ‘aeroplane labelling’, though well-intentioned, harmed farmers in developing countries.
Similar polls have been carried out in the past by the Co-operative Bank and its sister organization Co-operative Insurance, but they are still an unusual way for companies to determine their ethical priorities.
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