« Hydrofracking natural gas could lead to radioactive poisoning. | Main | Please help the victims of the massive tsunami in Japan. »

Greenbiz.com has the latest on how the rather responsible Costco Corp. fell down on the job and is now picking themselves up:

Costco has become the latest retailer to beef up its seafood sourcing policy following a wave of public pressure.

The company revealed it would stop selling a dozen at-risk species in its wholesale club stores, while also committing to buying canned tuna and farmed species that meet emerging sustainability standards.

It was this report from Greenpeace's Supermarket Scorecard that caused the change:

Greenpeace scores companies on a 10-point scale. One-three points is a "fail," four-six points is "pass," and seven-10 points is "good." Last year's list had seven "pass" scores and 13 "fail" scores.

The scorecard, in its fourth edition, is now evenly split between the number of companies with "fail" and "pass" scores, with no company declared "good" yet. But with most of the top companies close to or hovering around scores of six, next year's list is likely to see some "good" companies.

Costco ranked #14 with a score of only 1.9:

1) Target, 6.3 2) Wegmans, 6.1 3) Whole Foods Market, 6.0 4) Safeway, 5.8 5) Ahold, 5.8 6) Harris Teeter, 5.1 7) A&P, 4.9 8) Delhaize, 4.5 9) Walmart, 4.3 10) Trader Joe's, 4.0 11) Price Chopper, 4.0 12) ALDI, 3.6 13) Kroger, 3.2 14) Costco, 1.9 15) Supervalu, 1.5 16) Giant Eagle, 1.4 17) Publix, 1.3 18) Winn-Dixie, 1.3 19) Meijer, 1.0 20) H.E. Butt, 0.8

What this campaign proves is that pressure from consumers works!

Following the company's poor performance in Greenpeace's Supermarket Scorecard, Costco had been the center of a campaign led by the nonprofit, including more than 100,000 messages sent to the company's CEO and a blimp flown over its headquarters. The publicity generated by the rankings has also nudged other major retailers to rethink their seafood sourcing policies, including Trader Joe's and Target.

"This victory proves that by working together, we can make a difference to defend our oceans," Greenpeace's Casson Trenor said in a video statement. "I've been working very closely with Costco on the specifics of their new seafood policy and am very pleased with the direction that they're taking."

Costco will stop selling Atlantic cod, Atlantic halibut, Chilean sea bass, Greenland halibut, grouper, monkfish, orange roughy, redfish, shark, skates and rays, swordfish, and bluefin tuna. It won't bring any of these species back until it can find a source certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Costco is also working with World Wildlife Fund to improve the aquaculture conditions of its farmed shrimp from Thailand by helping its suppliers comply with a new draft standard and evaluate other certifications. The company is also working with its farmed salmon and tilapia suppliers to ensure appropriate standards are met.

Costco will modify its purchase procedures of frozen and fresh tuna to comply with guidelines from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation.

Good job, Greenpeace! Keep up the good work!

Name (required)
Email
Website
Remember personal info? Yes   No
Comments

home | music | democracy | earth | money | projects | about | contact

Site design by Matthew Fries | © 2003-23 Consilience Productions. All Rights Reserved.
Consilience Productions, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
All contributions are fully tax deductible.