Market issues from climate change: carbon footprinting, lifecycle analysis and food

This paper examines the trends in consumers concerns regarding sustainability in key overseas markets for New Zealand. These trends are affecting, and will continue to affect, what consumers buy and the premiums they will pay. The implications of these for New Zealand are explored. In general there has been rising concern for the sustainability of lifestyles and consumption. There are three ways we interact with the environment. Firstly, we interact through resource use such as fossil fuel consumption and this has led to concerns about resource depletion and the need to increase our reliance on renewable resources. Secondly, there is the interaction with the environment as a sink for wastes and its absorptive capacity, and with that have risen concerns about pollution such as greenhouse gases. Finally, there is the use of the environment for amenity and aesthetic qualities, both use and non-use, with concerns about loss of landscape. However, for consumers sustainability can have very varied meanings and be interpreted in different ways. This paper will focus on the ways this concern is affecting and manifesting itself in consumer behaviour in overseas markets and how this is likely to affect NZ exports. The paper will focus on the high value premium markets segments which currently are discernable in the developed markets however it will also include emerging markets and their trends where appropriate. Initially the paper will review some of the regulatory changes and the context in which they will affect consumer behaviour then the paper will focus on the current and future changes in behaviour.The focus and drive for sustainability can be seen from a number of fronts. In general the market is leading this drive with retailers vying for market share for high value premium market share and thus increasing and specialising their market assurance schemes. Behind this are various groups of NGOS’ both business and non-profit organisations which provide standards, labels and organisational support for producers and retailers. Governments are tending to follow in this area with regulation and mandatory labelling being behind. However, there are areas where government intervention is much more pro active and this is in sectors where there is a history of government intervention such as agriculture or in areas where they have more traditionally been interventionist such as health with nutritional labelling.