FOOD ETHICSAn introduction to the day

Helen BrowningChair, Food Ethics Council

Ethics is a market

The market for ‘ethical foods’ grew from £1 billion in 1999 to £5.4 billion in 20051

Includes organic, fair-trade, animal friendly Plus wider ‘values for money’ trend Demand-side and supply-side drivers Presentations before coffee from:

Ed Garner, TNS on market trends Dragon Brands on what makes an ethical brand

1. Co-operative Bank (2006) Ethical consumerism

Ethical Evangelists

15%

Conscience Casuals

21%

Focussed Followers

27%

Aspiring Activists

21%

Blinkered Believers

16%

Different types of ethical shopper

They actively buy across the broad

spectrum of ethical issues

They have made several steps into

ethical shopping but pick and choose their

areas of interestThey express interest in many more ethical

areas than they current buy into

Their concern is focussed on one

ethical dimension in particular

They show little or no interest in ethical

shopping

Q1/2, Base: All main shoppers (n=1,092) Source: IGD Consumer Unit, 2008

Q1/2, Base: All main shoppers (n=1,092) Source: IGD Consumer Unit, 2008

52

43

18

17

37

30

23

31

18

16

10

8

5

33

23

17

15

17

17

18

19

16

22

18

20

11

12

6

15

9

Free range

Not been tested on animals

High standards of animal welfare

British

Local/ regional

Minimum or reduced packaging

Recycled, recyclable or bio-degradable packaging

Sustainably managed sources

Committed to reducing carbon footprint

Not transported by air

Conversion from interest to action

Which of these are you interested in / actively look to buy? (%)

75

74

53

51

67

62

59

59

51

44

46

39

43

69

72

Conversion ratio (%)*

Actively look to buy (%) Interested but do NOT buy (%)* Actively buy / All interested (%)

Animal welfare (net)

Local/British (net)

Environmentally friendly (net)

Fairly traded products

Organic products

Products that are/have…

Ethics is strategy Ethics as good governance This is a strategic issue because it affects:

Your goals as a business How you meet them The food sector’s collective licence to operate

Presentations before lunch from: Tom MacMillan, FEC, with a toolkit for ethical

business Julia Hailes MBE on key ethical issues for the industry Geoff Tansey on sector-wide challenges

Ethics in practice Case studies to highlight:

Ethics is for all businesses, not just a niche Thinking ethically can improve business decisions But it doesn’t always make them easier!

Thinking aloud about the ethics of real decisions

Presentations after lunch from: Carmel McQuaid, Marks and Spencer Andrew Smith, PepsiCo Anne Heughan, Unilever Man-Kwun Chan, Ethical Trading Initiative