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Sustainable Development and the Consumer: Exploring the Role of Carbon Labelling in Retail Supply Chains

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  • Sue Hornibrook
  • Claire May
  • Andrew Fearne

Abstract

This empirical article contributes to the sustainable development debate by examining consumer responses to carbon labels within a real world context. Given the limitations of methodologies that use self‐reported or intended measures of purchasing behaviour, we use the loyalty card data of the largest supermarket retailer in the UK to measure the impact of carbon labels on sales by different consumer segments. The data show that the trial of carbon labels on supermarket own brand products has had no discernible impact on shifting demand to lower carbon products. In order to explore possible reasons for lack of impact, nine focus groups were held using purposive sampling by retailer consumer segments to allow an exploration of awareness, understanding and use of carbon labels. The findings from the focus groups identified possible reasons for this lack of impact: lack of awareness and understanding of carbon labelling; constraining or facilitating social and cultural influences; and the heterogeneous nature of consumers. As a result, a number of implications for stakeholders are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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  • Sue Hornibrook & Claire May & Andrew Fearne, 2015. "Sustainable Development and the Consumer: Exploring the Role of Carbon Labelling in Retail Supply Chains," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 266-276, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:24:y:2015:i:4:p:266-276
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.1823
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    4. Hsiu‐Hua Chang & Shin‐Hua Tsai & Chun‐Chen Huang, 2019. "Sustainable development: The effects of environmental policy disclosure in advertising," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(8), pages 1497-1506, December.
    5. Kathleen Jacobs & Jacob Hörisch, 2022. "The importance of product lifetime labelling for purchase decisions: Strategic implications for corporate sustainability based on a conjoint analysis in Germany," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1275-1291, May.
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    7. Shaojian Qu & Yongyi Zhou, 2017. "A Study of The Effect of Demand Uncertainty for Low-Carbon Products Using a Newsvendor Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-24, October.
    8. Yonghong Cheng & Hui Sun & Fu Jia & Lenny Koh, 2018. "Pricing and Low-Carbon Investment Decisions in an Emission Dependent Supply Chain under a Carbon Labelling Scheme," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, April.
    9. Nikodemska-Wołowik Anna Maria & Wach Dagmara & Andruszkiewicz Katarzyna & Otukoya Ade, 2021. "Conscious shopping of middle-class consumers during the pandemic: Exploratory study in Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, and Sri Lanka," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 57(3), pages 209-219, September.
    10. Hulshof, Daan & Jepma, Catrinus & Mulder, Machiel, 2019. "Performance of markets for European renewable energy certificates," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 697-710.
    11. Carmen Bălan, 2020. "How Does Retail Engage Consumers in Sustainable Consumption? A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-25, December.
    12. Aysegul Kanay & Denis Hilton & Laetitia Charalambides & Jean-Baptiste Corrégé & Eva Inaudi & Laurent Waroquier & Stéphane Cézéra, 2021. "Making the carbon basket count: Goal setting promotes sustainable consumption in a simulated online supermarket," Post-Print hal-03403040, HAL.
    13. Xue Yang & Yuandi Wang & Die Hu & Yongqiang Gao, 2018. "How industry peers improve your sustainable development? The role of listed firms in environmental strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1313-1333, December.
    14. Lars Petersen & Jacob Hörisch & Kathleen Jacobs, 2021. "Worse is worse and better doesn't matter?: The effects of favorable and unfavorable environmental information on consumers’ willingness to pay," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(5), pages 1338-1356, October.
    15. Mei‐Fang Chen, 2020. "The impacts of perceived moral obligation and sustainability self‐identity on sustainability development: A theory of planned behavior purchase intention model of sustainability‐labeled coffee and the," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2404-2417, September.
    16. Rui Zhao & Meng Yang & Jianxiao Liu & Linchuan Yang & Zhikang Bao & Xinyun Ren, 2020. "University Students’ Purchase Intention and Willingness to Pay for Carbon-Labeled Food Products: A Purchase Decision-Making Experiment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-15, September.
    17. Kyriakos Riskos & Paraskevi (Evi) Dekoulou & Naoum Mylonas & George Tsourvakas, 2021. "Ecolabels and the Attitude–Behavior Relationship towards Green Product Purchase: A Multiple Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-22, June.
    18. Hempel, Corinna & Feucht, Yvonne & Zander, Katrin, 2022. "The Gap between Citizens’ Concerns and Consumers’ Actions: Which Factors Impair the Adoption of Food-related Mitigation Options?," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 13(01), January.
    19. Irfan Hameed, Idrees Waris, 2018. "Eco Labels and Eco Conscious Consumer Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Green Trust and Environmental Concern," Journal of Management Sciences, Geist Science, Iqra University, Faculty of Business Administration, vol. 5(2), pages 86-105, October.

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