Retailers and manufacturers have not taken their foot off the pedal when it comes to sustainability, despite the punishing economic climate.
Polls conducted at the IGD Convention, held in London this week, revealed that 41% of delegates thought sustainability was a "long-term steady commitment", while 45% "gave it more attention every year". Just 9% said sustainability had never been a priority, and only 5% said they had put sustainability on the backburner.
Some 43% of delegates claimed their business had cut carbon emissions by between 10% and 25%, and 15% said they had cut emissions by up to 50%. Just 10% said they had not made any progress.
They were also sending less waste to landfill. Although 40% had made either only a small reduction or none at all, 28% had made big cuts, 21% had cut waste by at least half and 11% were sending zero waste to landfill.
Sustainability would remain a pressing issue, predicted speakers.
Nestlé UK CEO Paul Grimwood described it as the "biggest challenge" for the industry and said that 50% of the calls it received last year to its customer helpline were sustainability related compared with 15% the previous year.
"Taking action isn't the nice thing to do but the essential thing to do," he said. "If 50% of consumers are concerned, then it's a big point of interest."
Nearly half of delegates (48%) admitted rising input costs were giving them the biggest headache, up from 38% last year. This was followed by skills shortages (14%) and the slow pace of consumer spending (13%).
However, delegates were excited about the prospects for online retailing. A third (32%) predicted online sales would account for 12% of total grocery sales by 2010, up from 2.6% this year.
Irwin Lee, vice president, UK & Ireland for Procter & Gamble, revealed it had had massive success with online virals in the past year, especially with ads for Old Spice, and a Gillette 'trick shot' viral featuring tennis star Roger Federer.
Polls conducted at the IGD Convention, held in London this week, revealed that 41% of delegates thought sustainability was a "long-term steady commitment", while 45% "gave it more attention every year". Just 9% said sustainability had never been a priority, and only 5% said they had put sustainability on the backburner.
Some 43% of delegates claimed their business had cut carbon emissions by between 10% and 25%, and 15% said they had cut emissions by up to 50%. Just 10% said they had not made any progress.
They were also sending less waste to landfill. Although 40% had made either only a small reduction or none at all, 28% had made big cuts, 21% had cut waste by at least half and 11% were sending zero waste to landfill.
Sustainability would remain a pressing issue, predicted speakers.
Nestlé UK CEO Paul Grimwood described it as the "biggest challenge" for the industry and said that 50% of the calls it received last year to its customer helpline were sustainability related compared with 15% the previous year.
"Taking action isn't the nice thing to do but the essential thing to do," he said. "If 50% of consumers are concerned, then it's a big point of interest."
Nearly half of delegates (48%) admitted rising input costs were giving them the biggest headache, up from 38% last year. This was followed by skills shortages (14%) and the slow pace of consumer spending (13%).
However, delegates were excited about the prospects for online retailing. A third (32%) predicted online sales would account for 12% of total grocery sales by 2010, up from 2.6% this year.
Irwin Lee, vice president, UK & Ireland for Procter & Gamble, revealed it had had massive success with online virals in the past year, especially with ads for Old Spice, and a Gillette 'trick shot' viral featuring tennis star Roger Federer.
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