Stanford team lauds Woolworths Farming for the Future programme
Woolworths provided a unique opportunity because they agreed to total academic freedom to evaluate their programme and publish results
A leading South African retailer is sporting a huge green feather in its cap from US researchers studying one of its environmental initiatives. Woolworths’ Farming for the Future programme is succeeding in encouraging farmers to use more environmentally friendly management practices than their counterparts that do not supply the grocery chain‚ say a team from Stanford University. Writing in the journal Global Environmental Change‚ the scientists said farming was key to the planet’s health because it contributed 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. Co-author Eric Lambin said the scientists wanted to evaluate a retailer’s programme because "if these policies are effective and able to transform their entire supply chains‚ then they can potentially transform land-use practices worldwide and have a very positive impact on the environment". Several US retailers refused to give the Stanford team access to their data. Study lead author Tannis Thorlakson said: "It’s really hard to evaluate a com...
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