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K. Bostick
7.3.3 Influence Retailers
Increasingly, NGOs are working directly with retailers and other buyers to influence purchasing policies. The global food retail sector has, as part of a global
industrial trend, consolidated over the last 20–30 years. For example, in the U.S.
the top five grocery retailers controlled 19% of the market in 1992 and by 2005
their market share was almost 50% (Konefal 2006). An educated retailer has the
capacity to make sourcing and marketing decisions that influence hundreds of
thousands or even millions of consumers. Additionally, retailers can send strong
signals to seafood producers, including the aquaculture industry without necessarily educating consumers or burdening them with more information and
choices.
The role of retailers in the sustainable seafood market has grown considerably.
Retailers can influence production wherever they source their products. With consolidation, their role in the supply chain has shifted and they are now able to set
prices, production methods, and quality standards. They are increasingly developing private standards, labels, and product lines (Konefal 2006). In some European
countries, retailers even set requirements on the percentages of fishmeal and fish oil
in the feed used in the salmon farms from which they source (Tacon 2005). NGOs
have recognized this new role of retailers and increasingly are working with them
to influence the production practices of the aquaculture industry.
Some NGOs have conducted general assessments of supermarket seafood policies and sales. For example, Greenpeace and the Marine Conservation Society in
the UK have both developed rankings of supermarkets, which can pressure retailers to examine their policies as well as help consumers make decisions about
where to shop. Other NGOs have vocally campaigned to try to influence specific
retailers to change their purchasing policies. For example, the member NGOs of
the Canadian Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) targeted Safeway Canada
for their sales of farmed salmon through billboards, advertisements, and
demonstrations.
A number of NGOs work directly with retailers. One-on-one relationships
between NGOs and retailers allow NGOs to advise seafood purchasers not only on
the larger picture of which species tend to be more sustainable, but also to provide
advice on the development of purchasing policies. For example, in early 2006
Wegmans Food Markets, a regional U.S. retailer, announced new environmental
and health purchasing standards for farmed salmon that were developed in collaboration with Environmental Defense, an NGO based in New York. A former
Wegman’s supplier, Marine Harvest Canada, also participated in the project.
Wegmans and Environmental Defense are now working with Wegmans’ current
farmed salmon suppliers to meet these standards. Similarly, NGOs collaborate with
processors and distributors to strengthen their sourcing policies. For example,
Oxfam and IUCN in the Netherlands are working with Heiploeg, a European
shrimp processor, to improve the social and environmental components of their
internal policy for sourcing shrimp products.
K. Bostick
7.3.3 Influence Retailers
Increasingly, NGOs are working directly with retailers and other buyers to influence purchasing policies. The global food retail sector has, as part of a global
industrial trend, consolidated over the last 20–30 years. For example, in the U.S.
the top five grocery retailers controlled 19% of the market in 1992 and by 2005
their market share was almost 50% (Konefal 2006). An educated retailer has the
capacity to make sourcing and marketing decisions that influence hundreds of
thousands or even millions of consumers. Additionally, retailers can send strong
signals to seafood producers, including the aquaculture industry without necessarily educating consumers or burdening them with more information and
choices.
The role of retailers in the sustainable seafood market has grown considerably.
Retailers can influence production wherever they source their products. With consolidation, their role in the supply chain has shifted and they are now able to set
prices, production methods, and quality standards. They are increasingly developing private standards, labels, and product lines (Konefal 2006). In some European
countries, retailers even set requirements on the percentages of fishmeal and fish oil
in the feed used in the salmon farms from which they source (Tacon 2005). NGOs
have recognized this new role of retailers and increasingly are working with them
to influence the production practices of the aquaculture industry.
Some NGOs have conducted general assessments of supermarket seafood policies and sales. For example, Greenpeace and the Marine Conservation Society in
the UK have both developed rankings of supermarkets, which can pressure retailers to examine their policies as well as help consumers make decisions about
where to shop. Other NGOs have vocally campaigned to try to influence specific
retailers to change their purchasing policies. For example, the member NGOs of
the Canadian Alliance for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) targeted Safeway Canada
for their sales of farmed salmon through billboards, advertisements, and
demonstrations.
A number of NGOs work directly with retailers. One-on-one relationships
between NGOs and retailers allow NGOs to advise seafood purchasers not only on
the larger picture of which species tend to be more sustainable, but also to provide
advice on the development of purchasing policies. For example, in early 2006
Wegmans Food Markets, a regional U.S. retailer, announced new environmental
and health purchasing standards for farmed salmon that were developed in collaboration with Environmental Defense, an NGO based in New York. A former
Wegman’s supplier, Marine Harvest Canada, also participated in the project.
Wegmans and Environmental Defense are now working with Wegmans’ current
farmed salmon suppliers to meet these standards. Similarly, NGOs collaborate with
processors and distributors to strengthen their sourcing policies. For example,
Oxfam and IUCN in the Netherlands are working with Heiploeg, a European
shrimp processor, to improve the social and environmental components of their
internal policy for sourcing shrimp products.