What makes a supermarket green? It can be as straight forward as energy saving lights, air-conditions and refrigerators, or as tricky as acquiring green food that is, among many other things, produced through sustainable farming without pesticides or man-made fertilisers, grown locally or regionally to reduce air-freight carbon-emission, and is sufficient in quantity so that they are not eaten to their extinction.
In the last few years, supermarkets in the US and Europe have been introducing green options to promote environmental friendly consumption. Waitrose, for example, provides in-season vegetables, fishes farmed or caught without endangering marine species, and in-store information on responsible buying.
Supermarkets in Singapore are taking similar initiatives. In 2009, FairPrice opened an eco-themed outlet at City Square Mall. It boasts energy saving lights, biodegradable store fixtures and more than 400 environmental friendly items. Two weeks ago, Cold Storage launched its first green supermarket at Jalan Jelita. Besides some of the features mentioned above, the outlet also has enclosed chillers that they claim to help reduce carbon emission by 11 tonnes per year.
While these efforts are laudable, the supermarkets, overseas and local, may be getting too ahead of themselves in proclaiming green. Yes they have introduced some sustainable food in their stores, but the majority of their products are still air-freighted. Transportation by air produces the most CO2 compared to land and sea. Air-freighting just 225 grams of New Zealand strawberries to the UK, according to government statistics, produces CO2 that is equivalent to 11 parents sending their children to school by car.
How could we, however, point the finger at the supermarkets when our country is heavily reliant on food imports and the people have developed an irreversible penchant for seasonal food all-year-round? Would anyone patronise a supermarket that have no oranges from California, smoked salmons from New Zealand, beef steaks from Australia, pastas and cheeses from Italy, Kettle chips from USA, cabbages and celeries and melons from China?
But precisely because supermarkets are where we get our groceries from and they sort of pre-determine the food that we get, they play a leading role in promoting sustainable consumption – not just amongst the eco-aware elites, but everyone.
To turn the current niche market into a new norm, affordability is the key. The average shoppers are put off by green food mostly because they are more expensive. Cold Storage’s sustainable seafood, for example, is between 10 to 20 per cent pricier than the regular fish. The supermarket explains that it is because “there are money spent on scientific researches and certification”.
FairPrice did not compare the price of its in-house organic vegetable with the non-organic ones, but only said that they are cheaper than the other organic brands. If the supermarkets think that organic and non-organic products are like apples and oranges, then maybe they should put up in-store information to explain why they are different and how it affects prices so that shoppers can be better informed.
Green supermarkets should be accessible to the larger public as well. Cold Storage’s first eco-outlet is nestled within the private estates in Holland Road and has significantly more visitors from the expatriate community and the upper middle class. To be fair, it makes perfect business sense to test a market in which it has more confidence. But we sure hope that the supermarket will not stop at preaching to the converted but also reach out to the wider audience, including the non-believers.
Since the supermarkets are only making their first steps to going green, it is too premature to be dismayed by their progress. As a matter of fact, they are already producing some encouraging results. In its partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore, Cold Storage has stopped selling shark’s fin and other shark products to protect the species. FairPrice also saw the sales of its organic products increase by 50 per cent in the past two years.
But any effort will go to waste without the contributions from the other end of the transaction. Chiller doors left ajar and shoppers slowly picking groceries laid in an opened refrigerator are common sights at any supermarkets. While supermarkets scramble to go truly green, it looks like Singaporeans need to be prepped a lot more on responsible buying.
There can be more information about the food than just its price.
