Rendre les supermarchés équitables!
Par leur pouvoir d’achat important et leur double rôle d’acheteur et de fournisseur, les supermarchés exercent une influence déterminante sur la chaîne d’approvisionnement alimentaire mondiale. Bien que la plupart des supermarchés continuent à se procurer des marques tierces, leur rôle change avec la production sous marque de distributeur. En effet, de plus en plus de détaillants ne jouent pas seulement le rôle de simple commerçant, mais lancent également leurs propres marques, avec des offres s’étendant des produits discount aux labels premium. C’est ce qu’on appelle les « marques de distributeur (MDD) ».
Les critères écologiques et sociaux pour ces marques varient considérablement et offrent un faible assortiment de choix responsables au consommateur. Cependant, avec 40% de production de « MDD » dans les rayons des supermarchés européens, cette catégorie de produits a un grand potentiel sur les enjeux croissants d’une consommation et de modes de production plus équitables et plus durables. C’est le point de levier du projet SUPPLY CHA!NGE/CADDI[E]THIQUE, qui bénéficie du soutien financier de de l’Union européenne.
Overview of project activities
We are engaging with retail professionals, EU policy makers and consumers alike with the mission to identify and promote best practice procedures. Among a great variety of initiatives we pursue this mandate by
Awareness Raising
The SUPPLY CHA!NGE project was part of the European Year of Development 2015. As the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, the EYD was launched by the European Union to engender projects that champion the Union’s commitment to international development and aid. Within the scope of our participation in this unprecedented effort we engaged with and informed citizens about the impact of their lifestyles and consumer choices with a variety of activities, among these the European Food Vision Photo Contest and Exhibition, as well as a European wide Day of Action.
Business Dialogue
The SUPPLY CHA!NGE project initiates collaborative dialogue with retail professionals, discussing solutions for sustainable sourcing. A core component to this mandate has been the SUPPLY CHA!NGE Business Forum in October 2015 in Milan. Furthermore we develop and conduct capacity building programmes for businesses to provide solutions for hotsponts of global supply chains, as well as inviting professionals from producing countries to give first hand information on working conditions and environmental issues.
Policy Advocacy
A key component of the SUPPLY CHA!NGE project is the development of policy recommendations. These set the framework for more sustainable sourcing in European supermarkets.
Research
We collect first hand data on the production patterns of European retail supply chains. By means of independent research we are tracing the sourcing practices of European companies to producing countries and provide recommendations on how to improve working conditions and mitigate environmental impact. Among others we have sent teams to investigate production examples of tuna, pineapple, orange juice, chocolate, as well as studies into the effectiveness of ecological and social certification schemes.
The conducted studies inform a transparency database, assessing the social and environmental sustainability of different supermarket store brands.
