ASDA has taken the unprecedented step of producing a 30 minute documentary on itself, which will be screened to millions of homes on Sky TV for the next three weeks.
The programme called 'People, Prices, Planet' gives a unique behind the scenes look at the company’s operations, focusing on its streamlined distribution network, its efforts to reduce waste and cut packaging, and source products in a more sustainable way*.
The 'documentary' called 'People, Prices, Planet', will be broadcast every evening for three weeks from Tuesday May 6th to anyone with access to Sky Digital TV or the internet.
Paul Kelly, corporate affairs director at ASDA said: “I’m sure some will accuse us of propaganda or greenwash, but we believe it’s important to tell people what we’re doing to reduce waste, cut packaging and source our products in a more sustainable way.
"Over the last couple of years the media has become a little weary of all the green supermarket stories that are relentlessly sent out, so we've had to find an unconventional route to get our message out.
“I believe our 'documentary' it gives an honest insight into how we're making our business more sustainable, while ensuring we keep our costs down and prices low for our customers.
“People who watch it will hopefully learn a little more about how we do business, and if they do, the programme will have done its job."
People, Prices, Planet is split into six vignettes or stories that highlight varying aspects of ASDA’s operations. These include sourcing sustainable orange juice, ASDA's streamlined distribution and local food hubs, what it's doing to reduce packaging and cut waste, its low carbon egg production, and its organically produced children's food.
Notes for Editors
People, Prices, Planet, will be broadcast on Sky Digital channel 167 at 21.00hrs Monday to Saturday and on Sundays at 18.30hrs, and streamed online at the same time at www.information.tv.
Preview copies of the programme have already been issued by Lion Eyes Television. If you haven’t received one or require further copies please contact Lion Eyes on tel. 0161 245 4600.
As a Free-to-Air channel, Information TV can be accessed by anyone in the 9m UK households with a Sky Digital subscription or a Sky Freesat service. The programmes will also be available online, at the same times, as a simulcast video stream at www.information.tv.
*Programme running order:
1. Orange juice is a staple on every British breakfast table, but how is it produced, and is it sustainable? The documentary begins in an orange grove in Huelva Spain, where a local orange juice producer explains how he works in partnership with the local environment. He has established an eco-friendly production facility where no chemicals or pesticides are used in the orange grove. Bees are introduced into the groves where they help pollinate the growth of a new harvest. Traps are hung in trees to attract any pests away from the fruit, and water from the factory is recycled into an irrigation system, which is then released drop by drop onto the orange groves, therefore avoiding any unnecessary waste.
2. The documentary then moves onto focus on ASDA’s distribution network, taking in its deep sea facility in Teesport. Using Teesside means ASDA can ship seventy per cent of its non-food imports direct to the north of England, rather than moving the goods by road from Felixstowe – saving millions per year.
3. ASDA is also encouraging a reduction in road miles throughout the supply chain, through the use of local hubs. Here, small suppliers pool their resources in a bid to reduce costs, cut carbon emissions and lower the overall environmental impact of food distribution to ASDA supermarkets.In recent years, supermarkets have been accused of driving local farmers out of business due to pushing costs down or importing produce from abroad. However, one of the first ASDA suppliers in the UK to form a local hub was Banks Farm in Kent. Supporting smaller suppliers is good news, as Douglas Wanstall explains.
4. Every year in the UK, we throw away 5.9 million tonnes of packaging, sixteen per cent of the UK’s total waste. Supermarket designers are constantly working on ways to streamline the packaging of their existing products. With every lorry that delivers products to an ASDA store, excess waste such as cardboard and plastic accumulated from the shop floor, is immediately loaded up onto the same truck, so it doesn’t leave empty. It’s then taken to the nearest recycling plant which enables the packaging waste generated from these stores to be bailed, ready for reuse.
5. Sourcing goods produced using renewable energy, is just one of the ways ASDA is reducing its carbon footprint. One of the many products to reach the shelf is free range eggs produced, on farms where the power comes from a sustainable source.
6. Some farmers who grow organically cite the environmental benefits which the process brings for their land – and the potential improvements to the life of their animals. But for many families, organic food is about giving their children the best start in life. For one woman, finding a healthy alternative to ready-made meals led to business success. Pauline Stiles, the co-founder of ‘Pure Organics’ explains how the brand came about.
