Love pubs, love the planet too

Pampering emporium Lush can lay more claims to the green agenda than most given that its products are derived from natural sources like seaweed and mung beans.

So it's fitting that it should be the latest retailer to launch a fizzy bath bomb at our collective green conscience. "Lose your bottle - shower with soap" its A-boards rally. But as many licensees have discovered in the smoke-free era, some customers, perhaps like original eco-warrior Swampy, don't actually seem to use either.

However, a great deal of them probably use Tesco and it's here that the majority will start interacting with green values on a regular basis. Its ambitious plans to label all products with their carbon footprint is ground-breaking and throws a challenge down to other businesses.

More brands and companies want to make a virtue of their green credentials, exposing the same consumers who walk through your doors to these messages.

To a degree the drinks trade is doing its bit and there are lots of worthy initiatives out there, as our in-depth special issue on the subject earlier this year showed.

Adnams and Wells & Young's are setting the benchmark, endeavouring to make beer eco-friendly and many wine companies are just as sympathetic to the cause.

Back in the supermarket aisles, consumers are soon to be enticed with a new offer - Buy one get one tree - an initiative from Innocent smoothies to plant trees in India and Africa.

For Tesco the green movement is about "empowering customers to buy green lines", while still safeguarding its profits.

In pubs, using greener products, cutting food and beer miles by selling local goods or simply reducing energy consumption are ways of making money and being eco-aware. Tesco has the reach to change public thinking quickly, and pubs - not just suppliers - need to find ways to grasp the nettle.