Jo Whitfield: ‘We can’t simply rely on consumers to shop our way out of the climate disaster’

The consequences of climate change are increasingly highlighted through the extreme weather patterns experienced across the world. 

Droughts, floods and storms are now more frequent and intense. Ice caps are melting and sea levels are rising at an increasing rate, which significantly intensifies the impact of coastal storm surges across the globe.

We know that if we don’t limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees of pre-industrial levels then it will accelerate exponentially, and huge areas of land will become increasingly less inhabitable. 

The effects will be far-reaching, resulting in the forced migration of millions of people and radical changes to the lives and livelihoods of those fortunate to remain in their homes. The social, political and economic consequences of this de-stabilisation of society are unthinkable.

“Retailers have a huge part to play in shifting the nation to more sustainable living. But we’ll need to work together, and with the government, to achieve it – in co-operation, not in competition”

The inequality of global warming is that the developed countries, who are largely responsible for the problem, are more able to mitigate the impact while those not directly responsible suffer the immediate consequences.

The challenge businesses face is how to remain competitive, providing goods and services that consumers want and can afford, and ensuring workers earn a decent living while tackling this global crisis.

Retailers have a huge part to play in shifting the nation to more sustainable living. But we’ll need to work together, and with the government, to achieve it – in co-operation, not in competition.

Five major UK supermarkets, including my own, have committed to slash their impact across climate, deforestation and nature, and lead the way for the whole food retail sector to halve its overall impact on the natural world.

This is a positive step but it will be to no avail should the rest of the sector, from major brands to manufacturers to commodity traders, fail to join forces and take collective action for nature, climate and future generations.

The Co-op’s unique Ethical Consumerism Report has tracked total UK ethical expenditure every year for the past two decades and its findings are a stark reminder of the progress needed by businesses and consumers in changing our behaviour to save the planet.

Ethical consumer spending and finance is reaching record levels, but it is lagging behind where it needs to be to tackle the global climate crisis.

It’s great to see a significant rise in ethical food shopping, including the growth in Fairtrade. The accelerating popularity of plant-based alternatives indicates that an increasing number of consumers are reducing their meat consumption or have stopped eating it altogether.

And helping UK families make their weekly shop greener will protect vital landscapes and species around the world.

Yet research suggests that only a few pence in every pound spent by consumers are going on low-carbon purchases, such as renewable home energy or plant-based foods.

It’s clear we can’t simply rely on consumers to shop our way out of the climate disaster.

It’s never been more important to provide smart policy intervention that sends the right signals to drive better corporate decisions and thereafter consumer choices.

“Businesses need to act now. Politicians have postured but business leaders need to follow the science and publicly show their progress against science-based targets”

We need an acceleration of what we saw in the UK government’s net-zero strategy. This includes: ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030; decarbonisation of the electricity grid by 2035; and phasing out the installation of new and replacement natural gas boilers by 2035.

The food we produce and the food we buy is responsible for more than half of global nature loss and contributes over a third of total greenhouse gas emissions – nearly 19 times that of the commercial airline industry.

Businesses – and the food sector in particular – need to act now. Politicians have postured but business leaders need to follow the science and publicly show their progress against science-based targets.

Achieving carbon neutrality for the way we do business is all well and good but won’t go far enough unless we also reduce the carbon impact associated with our products.

That means supporting consumers to move to a lower-carbon lifestyle.

I doubt any previous generation of business leaders has faced the scale of the challenge that we do right now, but there is no time to wait. 

The decisions we make today will directly influence whether we can stop devastating climate change.

Yes, we need politicians to lead the way but business leaders can do something about it by taking decisive action in boardrooms up and down the land. 

The planet and future generations depend on it because we are past the point of setting well-meaning targets. It’s action through co-operation that’s needed.