Asda

Is Asda the most ethical and sustainable supermarket? 

Asda is a brand that is listed in The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Supermarket Ratings Table. Although the brand is yet to meet our ethical standards, we expect the brand to improve in the future. There are a number of different ethical and sustainable attributes that a brand must comply with in order for us to grant Ethical Accreditation and excels in some of them.

We would have more faith in this brand if it applied for Ethical Accreditation, which would allow The Good Shopping Guide to conduct a more detailed assessment and propose changes for ethical improvement. We recognise that this brand has much room for improvement, but we are confident that it can become Ethically Accredited and a more sustainable supermarket in the future.

What does Asda do and what is its history?

British grocery chain Asda has its main office in Leeds, England.

When the Asquith family and the Yorkshire-based Associated Dairies company amalgamated their retail operations, the company was established in 1949. In the 1970s and 1980s, it expanded into Southern England and bought Allied Carpets, 61 sizable Gateway Supermarkets, and other companies including MFI Group. To focus on the supermarkets, it sold these assets in the 1990s. It was traded on the London Stock Exchange up until 1999 when Walmart paid £6.7 billion to buy it.

Between 2003 to 2014, Asda held the second-largest market share among British grocery chains; after that, it slipped to third. In addition to its primary businesses, the company also acts as a mobile phone provider and provides support for insurance and payment services.

For which criteria does Asda perform poorly?

Despite Asda ranking highly in many categories there are still some issues yet to be dealt with by the company. These are in the areas of Animal Welfare, Human Rights, and Other Criticisms.

In what areas does Asda score well for its ethics?

Asda scores above our Ethical Benchmark in vital categories such as having Vegetarian and Vegan options, an Environmental Report, and no evidence of investments or involvement in Armaments.

Asda’s Ethical Rating has been calculated from its scores in our research categories of the Environment, Animals, and People.

If your Food Retailer or Supermarket brand could benefit from Ethical Accreditation, fill out our application form to get the process started, or get in touch for more information.