I am more than my receipt

Challenges

• Sustainable consumption relies on a niche market segment.
  Consumers can help promote a more sustainable food system through the choices they make when shopping. Consumers have shown a positive attitude and willingness to do so, but all kinds of stumbling blocks seem to come up once they are in the shop. These include high prices, limited choice, and inconvenience, among others. More than 80% of consumers want to shop in a more sustainable manner, yet only 16% follow through when it comes to their behaviour.
• The consumer is a passive player.
  While the consumer is often seen as 'the problem' in the discussion about sustainable food, they are seldom really involved in the conversation.
• Supermarkets have leverage, but are not yet fully taking advantage of it.
  Most people in Belgium buy their food in supermarkets that have the necessary tools and expertise to promote sustainable choices. They have been able to make sustainable shopping the new normal through supply chain adaptations, targeted promotions and advertising, and redesigned shopping environments. Despite a plethora of promising initiatives, fierce price competition has hindered many of them from being the first to take big steps in this direction.
• Sustainability is often defined in a very one-sided manner
  Fortunately, ecological matters are receiving more and more attention (less packaging, energy consumption, pesticides, etc.). However, the economic pillar (viable prices for farmers) and the social pillar (e.g. inclusion of disadvantaged groups) are still too often forgotten when it comes to sustainable food.

ALTERNATIVE PARAGRAPH:

Sustainable consumption relies on a niche market segment. Although consumers have shown a positive attitude and willingness to shop in a sustainable manner, several stumbling blocks seem to hold them back such as high prices, limited choice and inconvenience, among others. Additionally, the consumer is a passive player and rarely included in the sustainability conversation. Besides, supermarkets have leverage, but are still not fully taking advantage of it. Even though supermarkets possess the pivotal tools to make sustainable shopping the new normal, fierce price competition had hindered many of them from being the first to take big steps in this direction. Moreover, sustainability is often defined in a very one-sided manner. Ecological matters are receiving more and more attention, yet the economic (viable prices for farmers) and social (e.g. inclusion of disadvantaged groups) pillars are too often forgotten when it comes to sustainable food.

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Results

• We have launched a coalition of 6 civil society organisations, each of whom is working on sustainable food from its own perspective. Together we are reaching more than 1 million people in Belgium alone.
• More than 6,000 people are following the campaign closely and have participated in at least one of the activities.
• In 2018, we organised a "Dear supermarket" question-and-answer column series. Consumers submitted their sustainable food questions to supermarkets in collaboration with parenting blog Maison Slash.

• 5,000 people participated in our 2018 seasonal vegetable challenge. With the help of Belgian television chef Sofie Dumont, they cooked with seasonal vegetables alone for one whole week. Supermarkets were challenged to give seasonal vegetables more visibility.
• In 2019, we organised 15 “I am more than my receipt” workshops. Consumers engaged in a dialogue with local supermarket managers as well as marketing and consumer behaviour experts.
• In 2019, we started the “I am more than my receipt” Award in collaboration with De Standaard and Gondola. We highlighted supermarket initiatives that brought sustainable food into the mainstream.