FBlog

A £5,000 fine doesn’t seem much of a penalty for such a profitable business as Sainsbury’s. However, all eyes are focussed on the floodgates and they are really creaking, especially with the Cancun summit looming.

Our commercial dilemma is; how do we ‘be good’, while differentiating products as part of the marketing mix? This beef episode is just another extension of this dilemma. So how can we maintain commercial desires, whilst creating differing value perceptions and be sustainable?

Surely, as we approach the tipping point, this is just another human challenge. When the heat is on, we usually get into gear. Our history is full of speed solving: genetics, nuclear power, space etc..

Why bother? Currently we have 2 floating islands in two of our oceans, each bigger than Madagascar. If you want to know how potentially hazardous this is, try drinking water from a PET bottle after it has been left in the car on a summers day. The toxin levels are lethal!

So, speed is the answer and as with our other great human endeavours we need to harness the power of science.

In the UK we have fantastic organisations such as WRAP and Faraday Packaging Partnership. But how effective can they be in a commercial world? How far have we come? We need a NASA style fully-international organisation, captaining the best in Science, Branding, and Packaging manufacturing, as well as brand owning commerciality. Keep it real, but speed is the essence here. We must stop suppliers delivering what they can rather than what the planet needs…