Selection of policy data sources

There is no UK policy specifically on social sustainability, so using the sampling methods just described, in which one policy document led to others, the research traced the evolution of UK policy for sustainability from the emergence of sustainability as a concern in

environmental policy in the 1980s, followed by the appearance of the first strategy for Sustainable Development in 1994, through an arc during which policy proliferated in the early 2000s, to a decline after 2010. The focus was on interpretations of the social pillar, with the sampling chains leading, for example, to an unexpected cascade of policies from 2003-2012 on sustainable communities. Similarly, in relation to food, there is no policy for social sustainability, so policies on sustainability were reviewed from 1994 onwards for the attention they paid to food. Then food sustainability policies were reviewed from 2002, when the first policy that explicitly addressed sustainability appeared (Defra 2002). Again, the focus was on interpretations of the social pillar, and activities proposed to implement it.

The main documents reviewed were produced between 1994 and 2015. They emanated from public authorities such as UK government departments, agencies or non-departmental public bodies, and parliamentary committees. (The devolved administrations were all found to have policies for Sustainable Development, and for sustainable food and agriculture, but time did not permit these to be studied in detail.)

Chapter 4: Research design and methods

92 4.4.2 Selection of website data sources

The objective here was to use website research to discover which actors were involved in governance activities, and to build a picture of what sort of actors they were and what sort of activities they engaged in. From some starting conceptions of which actors might be relevant based on past research and arising from the literature review (Blaikie 2009), websites of, for example, food companies, civil society organisations (such as the Fairtrade Foundation) and standards organisations (such as the Marine Stewardship Council) were investigated. Because the focus was on the conventional, or large-scale, food supply, the food companies investigated met the UK definition of a medium-sized or large enterprise, having 250 or more employees (BIS 2013). They came from categories such as producers, manufacturers, retailers and caterers, which are the components of many simple maps of the food supply (e.g. Defra 2015a).

The websites proved to be highly cross-referential, with many links to other relevant sites, confirming the usefulness of the theoretical sampling technique. Always seeking out meaning and actions associated with social sustainability, the technique led in long chains from starting points in the webpages of, say, a manufacturer or civil society organisation to the websites of other entities, including input suppliers, logistics providers, trade

associations, standard-setters, certifiers, consultants, ratings agencies, research

organisations, and advocacy groups. Many of these were also companies, not all were large, some worked mainly on food, some only partially on food, but all were engaged in different ways and to different degrees in acting on social sustainability in the conventional food supply.

As the research progressed, explanatory theories began to emerge, and data sources were chosen to pursue these theories. For example, organisational structure came to seem increasingly relevant, which had not been foreseen at the outset, so the web research was expanded to record this information where it was available. Interviewees suggested that working for privately owned (rather than public) companies made socially sustainable behaviour easier in various ways, so the websites of some privately owned companies (e.g.

Cargill and Waitrose) were included in the web research. The literature had suggested that complex company structures could militate against coherent policies on social sustainability (Fuchs et al 2009), so some organisations with very complex structures were investigated

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(e.g. Moy Park, which linked to the websites of several related companies). The research led to the discovery of previously unknown actors (e.g. the investigation of Oxfam led to the Dutch Advocacy Organisation SOMO (Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen), which had done the research for Oxfam’s Behind the Brands campaign on food companies’

sustainability, so SOMO was also investigated).

The sampling process led to the investigation of 135 discrete ‘data sources’, listed

alphabetically in Table 4.1 (they are listed by category in Chapter 6, where the process of classifying the actors is described). While it was found that theoretical saturation had been reached by this point within categories (i.e., additional investigations were not yielding new information), it was also realised that other categories could have been investigated, if time had permitted (such as media companies or even the ICT companies on which food

companies depend). Other websites were scanned but discounted, mainly because the entities seemed inactive (e.g. FARM, an organisation purporting to represent sustainable farming in the UK), or because the activities proved not to be relevant to the UK food supply (e.g. the FEEM index of sustainability⁶). In a very few cases (e.g. Manor Fresh, a supplier of vegetables to supermarkets), the websites were too rudimentary to supply any relevant information, highlighting a limitation of this research technique.

Table 4.1 Websites investigated, with web addresses and dates accessed (135)

Name of entity

ABF http://www.abf.co.uk/ 3.5.13

Accenture https://www.accenture.com/gb-en 21.2.14

Access to Nutrition Foundation (ATNF)

http://www.accesstonutrition.org 10.12.13

Accountability http://www.accountability.org/ 12.12.13

ActionAid http://www.actionaid.org.uk/ 20.9.13

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)

http://www.ahdb.org.uk 27.9.13

Asda http://your.asda.com/about-asda 23.10.13

Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAW)

http://www.bfawu.org/ 18.9.13

Bakkavor http://www.bakkavor.com 14.10.13

Benchmark Holdings http://www.benchmarkplc.com/ 21.11.13

Best Foot Forward http://www.bestfootforward.com/ 13.11.13

6 http://www.feemsi.org/, 10.12.13

Chapter 4: Research design and methods

Bonsucro http://www.bonsucro.com/ 9.5.13

Booker http://www.bookergroup.com 4.11.13

BPEX http://pork.ahdb.org.uk/search/?q=AboutBpex 7.10.13

British Frozen Food Federation British Retail Consortium (BRC) http://www.brc.org.uk/brc_home.asp 8.10.13 British Soft Drinks Association

(BSDA)

http://www.britishsoftdrinks.com/ 10.10.13

Brook Lyndhurst http://www.brooklyndhurst.co.uk/ 13.11.13

British Standards Institution

Cargill http://www.cargill.co.uk/en/index.jsp 11.10.13

Coca-Cola http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/ 15.10.13

Compass http://www.compass-group.co.uk/ 4.11.13

Compassion in World Farming (CIWF)

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/about_us/default.aspx 27.11.13 Consensus Action on Salt and

Health (CASH)

http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/ 9.1.14

Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) http://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/index.aspx 20.11.13 Corporate Citizenship http://www.corporate-citizenship.com/ 11.12.13

Corporate Register http://www.corporateregister.com/ 13.11.13

Corporate Watch http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=52 24.4.13

Covalence Ethicalquote http://www.ethicalquote.com/index.php/about-us/ 9.12.13 Dairy Crest http://www.dairycrest.co.uk/who-we-are/our-business.aspx 16.10.13 Dairyco http://www.dairyco.org.uk/about-dairyco/what-is-dairyco/ 16.10.13

Dairy UK http://www.dairyuk.org/ 9.10.13

Dovecote Park http://www.dovecotepark.com/index.php?id=5 12.11.13

Eblex http://www.eblex.org.uk/about 18.10.13

Ecumenical Council on

Corporate Responsibility (ECCR)

http://www.eccr.org.uk/AboutUs 11.12.13

EIRIS http://www.eiris.org 23.9.13

Environmental Practice at Work (EPAW)

http://www.epaw.co.uk/aboutus.html 28.11.13

Ergon Associates http://www.ergononline.net/about-us 8.1.14

Ethical Consumer Research Association (ECRA)

http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/aboutus.aspx 10.12.13 Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) http://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/ 7.10.13 Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) http://www.ethicaltrade.org/ 9.10.13 Fairfood International http://www.fairfood.org/about-us/sustainability-agenda/ 27.11.13 Fairtrade Foundation http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/default.aspx 3.7.13

95 Farmers for Action http://www.farmersforaction.org/21.html 18.9.13

First Milk http://www.firstmilk.co.uk/default.html 23.4.13

Food and Drink Federation (FDF) http://www.fdf.org.uk 29.9.13

Food Ethics Council (FEC) http://www.foodethicscouncil.org/whoweare 2.12.13

Foreign Trade Association (FTA) http://www.fta-intl.org/ 20.11.13

Forum for the Future http://www.forumforthefuture.org/ 2.12.13

Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) http://www.freshproduce.org.uk/about-us/ 20.10.13 Friends of the Earth (FOE) http://www.foe.co.uk/index.html 2.12.13

Fruitjuice CSR Platform http://juicecsr.eu/csr-platform 5.2.15

FTSE Group https://www.ftse.com/Indices/FTSE4Good_Index_Series/inde x.jsp

10.12.13

General Mills http://www.generalmills.com/en/Company.aspx 16.10.13

Global Initiative on

Sustainability Ratings (GISR)

http://ratesustainability.org/about 23.11.13

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) www.globalreporting.org 23.09.13

Global Seafood Sustainability Initiative (GSSI)

http://www.ourgssi.org/ 5.2.15

GlobalGAP http://www.globalgap.org/uk_en/who-we-are/ 7.10.13

Greggs http://www.greggs.co.uk/about-us 16.10.13

Home Grown cereals Authority

IGD http://www.igd.com/Who-we-are/ 8.10.13

Iglo http://www.iglo.com/en-gb/forever-food/homepage/

ISEAL Alliance http://www.isealalliance.org/ 11.12.13

ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility

Lidl http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/www_lidl_uk 24.10.13

Living Wage Foundation http://www.livingwage.org.uk/home 8.01.14

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

http://www.msc.org/ 5.12.13

Marks &Spencer (M&S) http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/aboutus 27.10.13

McDonalds http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome.html 6.11.13

Monsanto http://www.monsanto.com/global/uk/Pages/default.aspx 14.10.13

Moy Park http://www.moypark.com/about-us/

Chapter 4: Research design and methods National Farmers Union (NFU) http://www.nfuonline.com/home/ 19.9.13 New Economics Foundation

(nef)

http://www.neweconomics.org/ 26.11.13

Oxfam http://www.oxfam.org.uk/ 5.12.13

Partner Africa http://www.partnerafrica.org/about 11.12.13

Potato Council http://www.potato.org.uk 23.10.13

Premier Foods http://www.premierfoods.co.uk/ 17.10.13

Produce World http://produceworld.co.uk/ 21.10.13

PwC http://www.pwc.co.uk/ 19.1.14

Rainforest Alliance http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/ 5.12.13

Red Tractor Assurance http://assurance.redtractor.org.uk/ 7.10.13

Robertsbridge Group http://www.robertsbridgegroup.com/ 25.11.13

Roundtable on Responsible Soy

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

http://www.rspb.org.uk 8.12.13

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)

http://www.rspca.org.uk/home 5.12.13

Sainsbury http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/ 25.04.13

Seafish http://www.seafish.org 11.10.13

Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex)

http://www.sedexglobal.com/ 8.10.13

SGS http://www.sgs.co.uk/en-GB.aspx 11.12.13

Social Accountability International (SAI)

http://www.sa-intl.org/ 5.12.13

Soil Association http://www.soilassociation.org/ 6.12.13

SOMO http://www.somo.nl/ 7.12.13

Starbucks http://www.starbucks.co.uk/ 11.11.13

Stobart Group http://www.stobartgroup.co.uk/ 12.11.13

Supply Chain Initiative http://www.supplychaininitiative.eu/ 4.11.13 Sustain: The alliance for better

food and farming

http://www.sustainweb.org/about/ 8.12.13

SustainAbility http://www.sustainability.com/ 25.11.13

Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform

http://www.saiplatform.org/ 8.12.13

Sustainable Agriculture Network http://san.ag/web/ 6.2.15

Sustainable Food Lab http://www.sustainablefoodlab.org/about-us 17.12.13 Sustainable Restaurant

Tenant Farmers Association http://www.tfa.org.uk/ 19.9.13

Tesco http://www.tescoplc.com/ 23.10.13

Tetley http://www.tetley.co.uk/ 17.10.13

The Co-operative (Co-op) http://www.co-operative.coop/corporate/ 12.04.13

The Natural Step http://www.naturalstep.org/ 22.11.13

The Sustainability Consortium (TSC)

http://www.sustainabilityconsortium.org/who-we-are/ 17.12.13

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Trades Union Congress (TUC) http://www.tuc.org.uk 19.9.13

Tragus Group http://www.tragusgroup.com/ 14.3.14

TwentyFifty http://www.twentyfifty.co.uk/ 25.11.13

Two Tomorrows http://www.twotomorrows.com/ 25.11.13

Unilever http://www.unilever.co.uk/ 18.10.13

Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers Union (USDAW)

http://www.usdaw.org.uk/aboutus.aspx 18.9.13

Unite the Union http://www.unitetheunion.org/ 18.9.13

Waitrose http://www.waitrose.com/ 25.10.13

Warburtons http://www.warburtons.co.uk/ 17.10.13

Whitbread http://www.whitbread.co.uk/homepage.html

Youngs http://www.youngsseafood.co.uk 21.10.13

Yum! Brands http://www.yum.com/ 6.11.13

Source: The Author

In document 'A piecemeal way to save the world': Investigating social sustainability in the UK's conventional food supply (Page 92-98)