On Internet Business

The environmental cost of the recession

Posted by Michael under Business Growth

Back in 2009, Europe-wide research showed that the recession had taken a chunk out of the ethical and ‘green’ retailing market with one in five shoppers claiming that their new financial position stopped them being able to environmental or ethical issues when making purchases. Interestingly, the focus on ‘green living’ was still increasing, with over 90% of those who responded saying they had taken up at least one ‘green’ behaviour in the previous 12 months – but ‘green’ shopping had fallen to a low place on their priority list.

Consumers cut back

12% of people had given up buying an environmentally friendly product that they used to purchase because they could no longer afford to pay the premium for it but 20% were still buying organic food even though they were trying to cut back on their food expenditure.

Eurostar rolls back

Against this background, Eurostar has announced that it will no longer be offering carbon offset passenger journeys – preferring to set the target of cutting emissions across its business by a quarter over the next five years. The company says that customers found the concept hazy and ‘didn’t get it’. While Eurostar claims that a Eurostar journey produces around a tenth of the CO2 of an equivalent flight between London and Paris or Brussels, it is struggling to roll out the carbon offset concept against the fierce price competition being waged by budget airlines which makes cheap flights an attractive option even for business travellers who find the free-for-all nature of getting a seat, food and access to toilets to be a strain on peak performance professionally.

High Streets failing

And the recent research by Colliers International showing that nearly 25% of town high streets are ‘failing’ is also leading to an environmental issue. The smaller, often less well-resourced businesses that take short term leases and sell cut-price or discontinued or bankrupt stock have a higher environmental footprint, less well-developed sustainability and environmental policies. They may even be selling products that lack proper supply chain audits: either imports from areas with lower human rights and environmental standards than usually seen on the high street or products considered below standard by the manufacturer but acquired for resale by ‘discount’ stores.

Finding new markets

It all adds up to an environmental bludgeoning which could lead to a backlash by consumers when the recession is over. But major retailers like Marks & Spencer are riding the storm by choosing to give less prominence to their environmental strategies in mass media PR while maintaining their focus by renaming such activities ‘efficiency savings’ and looking at new markets, like India, where the company has just opened a store in New Delhi.

Empty shop courtesy of egfocus

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