Over the summer, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Greenpeace UK conducted a survey of major UK grocery retailers, their use of single-use plastic packaging and their targets to reduce it. 14 responded including all 10 of the largest supermarkets, and 4 leading convenience store operators.
The results, to be released in November, are expected to reveal the volume of single-use plastic packaging each retailer puts onto the market every year, their targets to reduce plastic packaging and their approach to tackling plastic pollution across their supply chains.
The detailed survey, which is believed to be the largest-ever survey of UK grocery retailers and plastic will provide a benchmark for current commitments and actions on curbing plastic pollution. As well as collecting data about volumes of plastic and reduction targets, the survey intends to look at how retailers are planning to meet their targets and to reveal some of the challenges faced by retailers and solutions that are being developed. The results will also highlight where further innovation is needed.
Chair
Ben Webster
Ben Webster is environment editor at The Times, covering the most important environmental stories in the UK and around the world.
Speakers
Catherine Conway, Unpackaged Innovation Ltd.
Catherine set up Unpackaged in 2006 as the world’s first modern zero waste shop. Not only has Unpackaged pioneered a new, desirable, sustainable category in modern retailing; but Catherine’s passion for developing systems to enabling refilling and reuse, within various food sectors has enabled many other businesses to create real and lasting change.
Sarah Balch
Sarah is Senior Ocean Campaigner at the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and leads the joint campaign calling on UK supermarkets to reduce their plastic footprint, as well as working on EU and UK policy. Sarah has 10 years’ experience in the environmental sector, with recent areas of work including campaigning for the UK microbead ban, the EU circular economy package and plastic strategy, and UK marine and waste policy.
Elena Polisano
Elena is an oceans campaigner at Greenpeace and leads the campaign calling on UK supermarkets to reduce their plastic footprint. She has been at the forefront of Greenpeace’s creative interventions aimed at some of the world’s biggest companies, and recently led the organisation’s campaign that helped secure the government’s commitment to a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England. Prior to Greenpeace, Elena was an advertising creative.
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In 2016, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) embarked on a yearlong undercover investigation into the murky world of ivory trafficking in Mozambique in Africa. These investigations revealed a Chinese-led criminal syndicate which for over two decades has been trafficking ivory from Africa to Shuidong, their hometown in southern China. The traffickers claimed that up to 80 per cent of all African elephant tusks were destined for Shuidong town.
This panel discussion and Q&A will focus on the connections between corruption, criminality and the illegal ivory trade, the impacts of EIA’s investigations in China and Africa, and the responses so far from the Chinese government. Voices from the frontline will give a unique insight into how EIA uncovered this ivory trafficking syndicate and the risks this entailed.
You can read the report online here.
Chair
Dr Sam Geall
Dr Sam Geall is executive editor of chinadialogue.net and an associate fellow at Chatham House. His research focuses on low-carbon innovation, environmental governance, media and civil society in China. He edited China and the Environment: The Green Revolution (Zed Books, 2013). Sam’s writing has appeared in many leading publications, including BBC Chinese, the Guardian, Foreign Policy, Index on Censorship and Nikkei Asian Review. Sam was formerly departmental lecturer in Human Geography of China at the University of Oxford.
Speakers
Julian Newman
Julian joined EIA in July 1997 as an investigator after working as a journalist for six years. He has carried out field investigations into illegal logging in Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos, and wildlife crime investigations in Tanzania, Zambia, Singapore and China. He has also been involved in training local NGOs in Indonesia and Tanzania. Since 2008 he has been Campaigns Director.
Mary Rice
Mary has been with EIA since 1996, joining as a volunteer before holding positions including Head of Communications & Projects, Head of Development and Head of Campaigns. She has been Executive Director since 2008 and is responsible for directing the long-term strategic management of EIA as well as working on specific projects and leading the Elephant Campaign.
Deborah Davies
Deborah Davies is part of the award winning Al Jazeera Investigative Unit. Their 2016 film, The Poacher’s Pipeline, used undercover filming to infiltrate the illegal supply chain of rhino horn from South Africa to China. The film caused a massive political storm when one of the Chinese criminals showed photographs of “his good friend”, South Africa’s Minister of State Security, David Mahlobo. As an investigative reporter, Deborah has a long track record of breaking exclusives including the first ever film about Osama bin Laden, exposing Iraqi death squads and the 1997 film naming top level football coaches who had sexually abused young players, a story which exploded back into the headlines last year.
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