Professional food purchasers' practice in using environmental information

Abstract

Purpose – Food consumption impacts heavily on the environment. It is therefore highly relevant to study food-purchasing processes and needs for environmental information in the food supply chain. The objective of this article is to report findings from a study identifying practices in using environmental information when making decisions on what food to procure and purchase. Design/methodology/approach – Using a phenomenographic approach, professional purchasing managers at food production companies and wholesalers in public and commercial food services as well as retailing were interviewed with the aim of identifying practices when using environmental information in decisions on what food to procure for purchasing. Findings – The findings show that purchasers are dependent on corporate policy when it comes to environmental considerations related to food. Purchasers are mainly guided by business parameters with respect to price, quality and service. These factors are given priority over co-operation along the food supply chain. Such co-operation has been shown to have the potential to encourage environmentally friendly purchasing decisions. Originality/value – The study places the issue of the use of and need for environmental information in the food supply chain on the national agenda in Sweden. Thus, the study contributes to increasing the awareness of the importance of professional food purchasers as actors for change towards more environmentally friendly food consumption.