Global Congress 2023: Consumers are paying the price for broken food and energy systems – this is what needs to change
Knowledge is power. And credible, trusted consumer sustainability information could fuel progress to climate goals. But we have a long way to go.
Consumers want information about which products are genuinely greener, they want to understand the impact the food they are eating is having on the planet - as well as on the people who produce it - and they want advice on how to ditch fossil fuels in favour of generating their own, cheap, renewable energy at home. They also need these green options to be affordable and accessible.
A shift is happening - soaring food and energy prices mean consumers no longer want to be passive participants in the systems. They want to be active contributors with the ability to shape their own choices, and they want governments, businesses and international institutions with them to help achieve this.
This is the message that has been coming out loud and clear out of several sessions at the Consumers International Global Congress 2023, and from the data in our new report, Global Consumer Archetypes to Foster Sustainable Lifestyles. It shows that over 80% of consumers expect these stakeholders to collaborate and ensure support for sustainable living, for economic and practical reasons.
Here are the highlights from the sustainability sessions at Global Congress 2023:
Empowering consumers to use clean energy
The global energy system is unfair to consumers, and not only because of high prices. A total of 94% of consumers support the shift to a green economy, Consumers International’s new Global Consumer Archetypes to Foster Sustainable Living report shows, but a series of constraints are stopping them from making the choices they want to make.
The Global Congress session The Consumer Energy Revolution: People-Powered Systems for Climate, Affordability, and Resilience exposed these constraints and proposed ways of unshackling consumers from the old, centralised fossil fuel-powered system they no longer want to use. There were widespread calls for smart subsidies and financing options, with Monica Wambui, East Africa Manager at CLASP, saying that high costs are making it difficult for people to transition to renewable energy.
Consumers need up-front financing to enable them to buy solar panels, heat pumps and other clean technologies. They also need fair payments for providing energy and flexibility services to the grid. Both of these calls were made by panellists, as well as in a Consumers International letter sent to global leaders at COP28, signed by our members from around the world.
The COP climate talks have held their first Health Day and Trade Day this year, but they also need to provide a better platform for consumers, urged Riad Meddeb, Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub at the UN Development Programme. A pledge to triple renewable energy by 2030 has emerged from COP28, but it will remain little more than a pledge unless governments and businesses empower consumers to make the switch.
In countries such as Chile, consumers are being frustrated by energy companies failing to provide consumers with renewable energy options, said Chilean consumer group ODECU’s President, Stefan Larenas. Giving people the choice to select the type of energy they want would be “absolutely revolutionary”, he said, adding that consumer organisations have to become “stronger and stronger” to make this happen.
Clean energy will not just benefit the environment but also boost equity and equality, especially in the Global South, said Makena Ireri, Director of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. The low cost of renewables can make affordable energy much more accessible, she said, while Meddeb added that investing $1 million in renewable energy facilities can generate three times more jobs than spending the same amount on fossil fuel infrastructure.
Reshaping global food systems
With more than 3 billion people worldwide unable to afford a healthy diet, and food systems producing a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, it's clear that urgent reforms are needed. But how can this be done and what should the new normal look like? Several solutions were suggested during the Serving Up a Food System that Works for People and Planet session, with delegates resoundingly declaring that consumer rights must be central for any system to be successful.
Consumers fund the entire food system, so they must be involved and included at every stage from production through to consumption, said Alice Kemunto, Executive Director of the Consumer Grassroots Association, Kenya. This means food systems need to change shape, from linear, production-focussed models to a more rounded ecosystem that elevates considerations about distribution and consumption, added Hamisi Williams, Deputy Country Representative at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization Kenya.
More diversified, plant-based and sustainable diets will be necessary, said World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while Greg Garrett, Executive Director, Access to Nutrition Initiative, called for consumer organisations to prioritise the provision of more nutritious foods.
Food and nutrition security have been shattered by recent surges in food prices, which is why Consumers International has launched the Fair Food Price Monitor to act as an early warning system for potential cases of unfair food pricing. This new tool has been developed and piloted with our African members and will use publicly available data to track food prices at all stages of the supply chain.
Source: World Bank https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/icp/brief/foodpricesfornutrition#:~:text=Over%203%20billion%20people%20%2D%2042,a%20healthy%20diet%20in%202021&text=A%20world%20map%20showing%20the,shown%20by%20shade%20of%20color.
Fairer food prices are possible
Only by rethinking food networks from the bottom up can just and equitable systems be created for people worldwide, as was highlighted in the Fair Prices for Healthy and Sustainable Diets session. Panellists described the cost of food as being “artificially high” because of a combination of weak competition and high market concentration – both of which are enabling excessive profits for some producers (a fact also flagged in the Fair Food Price Monitor).
The answer to this problem has to be stronger action to boost competition and incentives to encourage diversified local food production, the panel unanimously declared. This means involving local stakeholders and improving collaboration between consumers, farmers and government authorities, particularly in Africa, delegates heard.
The consumer movement is making a difference, but it is still too fragmented, said Dr Willard Mwemba, Chief Executive Officer of the COMESA Competition Commission. He urged consumer organisations to come together in order to lobby governments more effectively, and said they must open up their research materials and data to maximise the power of their advocacy.
Consumer groups also need to push to get more women and young people involved in decision-making – not just to make food prices fairer, but to also boost gender equality within food systems, said Beatrice Gakuba, Executive Director of the African Women Agribusiness Network.
Supporting sustainable consumption
Consumers are seeking out more sustainable lifestyles in the way they shop, eat, travel and power their homes. However, they need guidance and support to help point them towards the right choices. Vast volumes of raw sustainability data may be available, but simply serving this up to consumers is not helpful, the A Deeper Shade of Green: In Search of Credible Sustainability Claims session heard. Instead, this information needs to be packaged in a way that is clear and makes it easily comparable.
There also need to be checks and frameworks to guarantee that any claims made are credible, and consumer organisations have the power to be the standard-makers, said Sergio Mujica, Secretary-General of the International Standards Organization. He urged consumer groups to propose new standards and to work with domestic standardisation bodies to get these put in place.
Australia’s Consumer Policy Research Centre has uncovered large numbers of “vague” and “actively deceptive” green advertising claims, its Chief Executive Officer, Erin Turner, told delegates. While such claims clearly need to be countered, George Lusty of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said this is not always easy. Consumers consider many criteria when buying a product, he said, listing sustainability as just one factor, alongside price, quality and ethical issues. Proving that sustainability claims are what make the difference in a buying decision will require far deeper behavioural insights.
Thankfully, green choices are increasingly becoming the more affordable choices, delegates heard, which is the most promising sign of progress. With the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change saying that up to 70% of greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced through changes to consumer behaviour, anything that makes those changes easier has to be prioritised.
Making eco the easy option
The UN’s 12th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) aims to ensure the world has established sustainable consumption and production patterns by 2030. This will have to involve halving per capita food waste and enabling more clean energy use, but progress is falling far short of what is required.
The session How Do We Get on Track to Achieving SDG 12? put forward a number of ways to catalyse change, and underpinning them all was the message that sustainability needs to become the easiest choice for consumers. There are multiple routes towards this destination, and providing clear information – such as through eco-labeling systems and local food campaigns – is a way for consumer groups to contribute.
Source: United Nations https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12
The One Planet Network and Consumer Information Programme for Sustainable Consumption and Production, co-led by Consumers International are already pushing hard on ecolabelling, delegates heard. They are also working closely with ministers and public procurement divisions to get more sustainable products on shelves, and panellists said this type of collaboration with government bodies is another necessary route to channel progress towards SDG 12.
Consumer groups have to help make markets serious about sustainable consumption, said Arnau Izaguerri Vila, a Legal Officer with the UN Conference on Trade and Development. This means finding a focal point within government and using them to engage businesses. Firm guidelines also need to be laid out to enforce punishments for greenwashing, he said.
When it comes to energy and emissions, greenhouse gas calculators are among the options consumer organisations should be looking at, said Ulf Jaeckel Head of Germany’s Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. Reassessing tourism practices can also help, said Angela Njehia, an Executive Committee Member of Ecotourism Kenya. Eco-ratings for accommodation, considering tourist numbers and promoting responsible consumerism – such as by banning single-use plastics in national parks – can all help, she said.
Shared responsibilities on sustainability
“Green defaults” are needed to shift the dial truly and irreversibly on sustainability, one panellist said in the Making a Sustainable Lifestyle the Norm session. Anja Philip, President of the Danish Consumer Council, believes this can only happen by making sustainability the core of all businesses.
But the responsibility does not lie solely with the business community. Governments need to actively support more sustainable ways of doing things. This includes building out infrastructure for sustainable mobility, rolling out subsidies for solar power and promoting green energy investments.
Ultimately there needs to be a synergistic approach, with governments, businesses and civil society all working together. This work also has to ensure consumers everywhere see the benefit of behavioural changes because they are the ones who drive the economy. The best way to do this is by creating an emotional connection with sustainable practices, according to Philip, who said this means emphasising the positive impact on individuals and the environment.
But there is a delicate balance between providing choice and choice editing, said Anindita Mehta, Chief General Manager of the Consumer Education and Research Society. There has to be a sense of everyone being involved in a shared journey towards responsibility, to achieve the broad buy-in needed to secure lasting change