Last night, Sainsbury’s chief executive, Justin King, spoke of how UK consumers have not neglected their beliefs in the pursuit of value for money. Despite the current strain on household incomes, consumers still want products that are sourced sustainably and as such, businesses need to embed corporate responsibility into their operations.

Addressing the annual City Food Lecture at the Guildhall in London last night, Justin King said:

Conventional thinking might suggest that in times of economic hardship, the consumer is only interested in saving money. That is important of course, but we know they are looking for more.

Consumers want to buy products that are value for money and give them quality and the high ethical standards they have come to expect.

As the CEO of the world’s largest Fairtrade retailer, and the UK’s largest Freedom Foods retailer, I can confirm that consumer interest in ethically sourced products has not only been maintained, but has grown.

In the UK, sales of Fairtrade food products alone rose 36%, from £749 million in 2009, to over £1billion in 2010.

And sustainable fish sales grew 16.3%, from £178 million in 2009 to £207 million in 2010.

A key element in the consumer relationship with retail is trust.  Many consumers want to do the right thing and rely on us to help them to do this on a day-to-day basis.

They expect businesses to exert a positive influence on each component in our supply chain.

Today, consumers enjoy greater transparency and access to information than ever before. Increasingly this is through the use of technology and social media where consumers can compare information and talk to each other about products.

We have – I believe – all moved on from the days when we published an annual report about our corporate responsibility achievements, produced almost as an after thought and certainly quite separate from our main business reporting.

CR today has to be embedded in your business and be part of ‘the way we do things’. And consumers expect us to demonstrate our CR values every day and to communicate with them directly about them.

And let me be clear. This is a competitive issue. We all strive to out-do each other because it is important to our customers and our suppliers. Consumers benefit from this competition.

CR needs to be looked at in the round – perhaps it should really be called Corporate Sustainability.

Sustainability has three aspects : economic, social and environmental.  Businesses need to make a positive impact on the economy, on the environment, and on society.

At Sainsbury’s we have our 20by20 Sustainability Plan which we announced last autumn and is key to our business strategy.

There are 20 targets, to be met by the year 2020. They are designed to help us make a positive impact on the economy, the environment, and society. To move us on from simply addressing any negative impacts of our business to actually making a positive difference.

We should all do more to get politicians and commentators to recognise the value our sector delivers for the economy along the whole supply chain, and therefore within the communities of which we are all a part.

For further information please contact:
Sainsbury’s Press Office: 020 7695 7295 or press_office@sainsburys.co.uk

Notes:

The City Food Lecture is an annual fixture in the City of London and food industry calendars. Held at the Guildhall, it is organised by the seven City Livery Companies whose roots are in the food industry – the Worshipful Companies of Bakers, Butchers, Cooks, Farmers, Fishmongers, Fruiterers and Poulters.

Further information is available at http://www.cityfoodlecture.com/index.html

Sainsbury's

Sainsbury's

Sainsbury's was founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury and his wife Mary Ann Sainsbury in London and has grown to become one of the UK’s largest retailers. The company today operates over 1,000 stores. It jointly owns Sainsbury’s Bank with Lloyds Banking Group and has two property joint ventures with Land Securities Group PLC and The British Land Company PLC.

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