Environment minister Joan Ruddock on how the Government views DM

Inside resides Joan Ruddock, MP for Lewisham, and Deptford since 1987 and Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) since 2007. Her modest office, which overlooks the gothic Palace of Westminster, is where she's agreed to give Marketing Direct a half-hour interview - her Parliamentary Private Secretary and a Defra press officer hover in the background to keep time - about the Government's views on direct marketing. The debate about green DM is gathering pace and Ruddock sees now as a good time to talk about the industry's efforts so far.

When you first encounter the Minister, you're not confronted with the formidable firebrand the press once portrayed her as while she chaired the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmanent (CND) in the 1980s. In fact, the petite and immaculately coiffed Ruddock could not be more accommodating to Marketing Direct's photographer, as he asks her to pose with the distinctive ministerial red briefcase. When he suggests that she hold it a bit higher, Ruddock replies that she can't do so for very long. "It's lead-lined, you see," she explains.

Though mild-mannered and friendly in person, some would say Ruddock herself is lead-lined, the steel inside the velvet glove of a career activist whose interests range from women's issues and Afghanistan, to nuclear disarmament and Third World development.

There was a collective sigh of relief when David Miliband, former Minister for the Environment and he of the 'war on junk mail' threat, moved on to become Foreign Minister in July. But few thought Ruddock and her boss Hilary Benn, who replaced Miliband as Environment Secretary, would ever be a pushover.

Ruddock is the person delegated to deal with the direct marketing industry and she's already made her feelings known at a meeting with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Her opinions, judging by our interview, are based on knowledge of the hard facts, but also her experience as a consumer. Speaking in soft Welsh tones, she sits at a table with neatly typed briefing notes, though these are rarely consulted. Banning junk mail could be an easy vote winner, as Miliband clearly believed, but the question is whether the Government's current environmental policy makers feel the same way.

- Marketing Direct: What are your impressions of direct marketing?

Joan Ruddock MP: What I know is both from my personal experience and lots of letters I receive from the public, most of which are negative - 'stop all of this coming through my door' as opposed to 'I love getting all these catalogues'. As a minister and a local MP, it comes up frequently at meetings about waste that involves the public in any way. They always say: 'why don't we just stop the junk mail?'

- More so than any other type of waste?

No, no. Waste is a huge concern to the public. And they are equally concerned about plastic bags. Consumers recognise where and how waste occurs and they frequently think it's the government that ought to do something about it.

- DM generates revenues of £17bn a year in the UK. Does this surprise you?

I don't think I was surprised at that, purely because of the amount of direct mail I get at my own home. It's very obvious that it's a huge market, that it has grown over the years, and I do take seriously the fact that it's a big industry, generating a lot of profits for British firms and employing a lot of people. But we can't ignore the degree of waste now that we all know that climate change is the most important issue of our time. We have got to address waste wherever it occurs and this industry has got to take its responsibilities as seriously as any other.

- Have you ever bought anything yourself as a result of direct marketing?

I certainly have. The last thing I bought was some bedcovers from a catalogue that came through the door and it was a very satisfactory transaction. I'm a busy person and it is easy for me, if I can see decently-presented pictures and I don't have to go to the shop, to order it in my own time. That can make sense.

But once I started to order from catalogues over a period of time, I started to get more catalogues, because they pass on the lists. I'm sure that's not justified. There seems to be no end to the continuous mailing.

- But you'd see the convenience factor as one of the saving graces of DM.

Yes, it is. I am not a person who says 'get rid of direct mail and direct marketing'. I am a person who says, 'let's get rid of waste and junk mail'. I receive a lot of unaddressed mail, for which I have no use and don't want.

- The Government is a big user of paper-based DM, unaddressed mail included, because it's a good way to reach most of the population.

Absolutely. We'll want to continue using it in the future because it is a means of communication on which we depend. But at the same time we know there is a lot of useless mail and that doesn't take away from my case. We hope that government messages are considered useful.

- How do you define waste vis-a-vis direct mail?

Effectively, it is all waste, in that it needs to be disposed of. The starting point is to take out waste that arises because it has no use at all to a household - mail that was badly targeted and didn't actually get opened. That sort of waste is absolute waste, in every sense of the word. So there's the first challenge to the industry - make sure your direct marketing is targeted and reduce the volume going out.

The MPS (Mailing Preference Service) is very helpful in minimising waste because there, people are saying I don't want to receive any of this - I want to do my shopping in a different way. We are delighted that there has been enough publicity to drive up the figures, as we think there are many more people who do not want to receive direct mail, but don't know how to reduce it.

- But a Defra report, published last year, suggested that the DMA isn't doing enough to promote MPS.

I think so too. I asked the DMA why can't (client) companies be asked to put this contact number on their direct mail and catalogues to say to consumers, if you don't want to receive this catalogue or others of a similar nature, there is a service you can use. More needs to be done because it is causing great aggravation. It's difficult to see that this wouldn't be better for the industry, because it then gets better targeting.

- So you would advocate putting the MPS logo on every piece of paper-based direct marketing?

This is just an exploratory question: could you consider further steps to publicise the MPS contact details? I just threw that out (to the DMA) as a possibility.

Some consider a blanket promotion of the MPS to be a blunt instrument. Far better, they suggest, to have an 'unsubscribe' to specific brand communications, as we do in email.

It may be that you can categorise (your opt-out). People look to us to do something, but we as a government try not to take the heavy-handed approach and not to legislate, rather to get voluntary agreements. But these only go so far and we may want to go further, but you can come back with suggestions before we impose anything on you.

- David Miliband was threatening a 'war on junk mail' before he left to become Foreign Secretary. Do you hold the same view?

I can distinguish between what is useful to the householder and well-targeted (and what is not). The word 'junk' needs to be defined, but I think all of us realise what junk mail is to us as individuals. We need a means to stop the junk and that's where the (DM) industry needs to be challenged further and where we need new agreements beyond what we already have. We appreciate the steps that have been taken in trying to target mail accurately and in terms of recycling. But having got the recycling targets, the industry then missed the first one in 2005. It wasn't missed by much, but in other spheres of life people went beyond (their target) and didn't fall behind. We want to see that (DM is) on target for 2009 because across the packaging industry, for example, we've been asking for new, bigger targets. We haven't suggested this for direct marketing, but we need to be sure they're on course.

- Have you got a timeline for when improved targeting and reduced volumes have to happen?

I had my meeting (with the DMA) a little while ago and we'll follow that up. (But) I don't want to put a date on it. I would expect to hear from them within a few months, particularly how to extend the MPS to unaddressed mail. It seems to me to be growing all the time and that's something we want to conclude quite soon.

- A mandatory opt-in for direct mail would be considered as extreme. Is it still on the table?

It's always on the table. As a society and a government, we cannot accept the continued growth in waste. I understand why it's seen as threat, but it should also be seen as a challenge. If the industry can make progress, we wouldn't need to take that step. We wouldn't do it lightly. We would want to understand the consequences and do more research before we did it.

- One consequence of opt-in would be on employment in the DM industry.

We would not take such a step lightly. We would want more research and more engagement. Nothing is pre-judged. (But) we could not stand by if the industry made no further response, and I'm pretty confident the industry will make that response. I don't want to hold a big stick over anyone. We have established a relationship, but we want you to do more. We're not singling out this industry - every industry and business across the land is being asked to do more for climate change.

- Royal Mail, which is state-owned, would also be adversely affected by opt-in.

I appreciate that. But we have to bring about a real cultural change in society and focus on climate change as our most important challenge. And that's going to mean changes in every sphere of life. And so no part of business or industry can actually escape from that.

- The DMA doesn't claim to represent all users of DM, which includes pizzerias and estate agents.

From our discussions, it was clear that was the area they have most difficulty with. Large companies with direct marketing operations and considerable resources are a much easier target. The corner shop and the pizza parlour are much more difficult and we understand that. This is where you have to bring in other consumer actions, such as 'no junk mail'. But even those pizza outlets are chains and we'd want the same message to go to them, that society cannot accept the growth of direct mail.

- Do schemes such as the DMA/BSI standard help?

They do. We've spoken about targeting, reduction and recycling. There are also things to do with design and paper, certain glues - a lot of technical work has gone on and it's much appreciated.

- Your message to the DM industry as 2008 begins, specifically to DM users ...

I would just say to them, think about the public mood. People now accept that climate change is our biggest challenge and feel that they're not being helped to get their own house in order, as it were. Supermarket packaging is another constant complaint - why is everything so packaged. As a government, we're seen as needing to facilitate the public to do more. The DM industry needs to understand that.

- There is a cynical view that you're tackling junk mail because it's a vote winner.

No one in government wants to put people out of business, but society will change under the pressure of climate change. Direct mail could argue that its carbon footprint can be lower than the person taking their car to a shop. But you have to analyse the whole picture. Here, we're talking about the waste arising from the amount of paper you use. You can reduce the weight and improve the targeting. The big grocery chains have a commitment to stop the growth of packaging by 2008 - those are the sort of things we need to see (from DM) - stop growth, reduce, minimise and increase recycling. If we can see improvement, then we will, as a government acknowledge that.

RUDDOCK ON ...

... the DM industry

"It's obviously a huge market, and it's grown over the years. I take seriously the fact that it's a big industry, generating a lot of profits for British companies and employing a lot of people".

... a mandatory direct mail opt-in

"It's always on the table ... I understand why it's seen as threat, but it should also be seen as a challenge. If the industry can make progress, we wouldn't need to take that step".

... the MPS

"I asked the DMA why can't (client) companies be asked to put (the MPS) contact on their direct mail and their catalogues ... it's difficult to see that this wouldn't be better for the industry, because it then gets better targeting".

... a D2D preference service

"The extension of the MPS to unaddressed mail is the priority as I see it. That's something we want to conclude quite soon".

... DM's environmental challenge

"The big grocery chains have a commitment to stop the growth of packaging by this year. This is what we need to see (from DM) - stop the growth, reduce, minimise and increase recycling".

JOAN RUDDOCK CV

1981-85: Chair of CND.

1987: Elected Labour MP for Lewisham, Deptford.

1989-92: Opposition front-bench spokesperson on Transport and Environmental Protection.

1992-94: Shadow Minister on Home Affairs

1997: Appointed first full-time Minister for Women in New Labour Government.

1998: Position axed and Ruddock returns to backbenches, pursuing issues related to the environment and women.

2001: Re-elected as MP and joins the Select Committees on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and on Modernisation.

2002: Championed the Private Members Household Waste Recycling Bill, now an Act of Parliament.

2004: Joins the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

2005: Appointed to the International Development Select Committee.

2007: Made Defra Minister with responsibility for Climate Change, Biodiversity and Waste by new Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

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