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‘Fair Miles’ vs Food Miles

February 10, 2007

Results released today from Cranfield University showed carbon emissions from Kenyan roses, including air freight, were 5.8 times lower than for Dutch roses.

The report commissioned by Sainsbury's and World Flowers - was carried out by Cranfield University to establish the actions needed to reduce its carbon footprint regarding Kenyan roses.  Results have provided a fresh challenge to current thinking on sourcing and the impact of air freight versus artificial heating and lighting for growing cut flowers.

The study suggests that the food miles issue is not as straight forward as it originally seemed and ‘total food miles travelled is not an indicator of sustainability' (DEFRA report - Validity of Food Miles 2005).

The report studied a Kenyan farm, which supplies Sainsbury's with its roses. The experts in environmental analysis at Cranfield University studied the growing, packing, cooling and transport of the roses to Hampshire and included direct energy consumption, the manufacture, use and delivery of fertilisers, pesticides, vehicles, and materials used for buildings.  This was compared to the same inputs from a Dutch grower, where artificial light and heat from fossil fuel replaced natural sunshine as the lighting/heating source.

The report's significance is all the greater, as the industry prepares for increased sales in the run up to Valentine's Day next week. 

Felicity Hodkinson, Sainsbury's Floral Manager says:" We expect to sell  2m stems of Kenyan sourced roses in the run up to Valentine's Day *, and with these new findings, our customers can really splash out with a socially clear conscience, not only will the roses you buy make your loved one smile, they are also contributing to economical growth in Kenya and the developing country.   We now need to take into consideration ‘Fair miles' as well as air miles which means our customers can indulge guilt free when buying roses for their loved one this year."  

Cranfield scientists completed a ‘Life Cycle Assessment' considering both the immediate emissions from growing the crop and the energy used to create and transport every component. 

The explanation behind the Kenyan roses producing less carbon emissions are:

• The yield of roses in Kenya is approximately double that in Holland
• The main Kenyan energy source is geothermal, whereas the Dutch is mainly fossil fuel
• Roses grown in Kenya have the advantage of natural heat and light when compared to Holland 
• Roses are packed and transported in specially designed boxes which are very efficient to air freight and are densely packed

Sainsbury's Head of Brand Policy and Sustainability, Alison Austin says: "We are currently looking at the big picture regarding carbon emissions and the part Sainsbury's play in that. We have been extremely proactive over the last 10 years on all aspects of energy efficiency.  The debate is now wider and we are keen to encourage suppliers to be more energy efficient as well as looking at our customer offer.  What this report shows is that it is not as simple as avoiding products from far-flung places.  It's about gathering information to make an informed carbon choice. Real information is the key now."

-Ends-

Notes:

• * 12^th & 13^th & 14^th February 2007
• This work was completed based on figures from one operation in Kenya and one operation in Holland, but the authors would expect comparisons with other Dutch and Kenyan operations to produce generally similar results, but national averages have not been compared.
• In Jan 06, Sainsbury's converted 75% of its roses to Fairtrade making the supermarket the UK's biggest retailer of Fairtrade in the UK, accounting for a third of the value of Fairtrade products sold through major retailers. Previously around a quarter. Source: AC Nielsen and TNS 2005

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