Retailers must take sustainability seriously, and there are several great examples of how to do it contained in this article. Green-washing just won’t do, as consumers are becoming much more aware of the negative impacts some practices are having. We have a collective responsibility to help stem the environmental impact. As rightly noted, the convenience and environmental sustainability appear to be conflicting notions, but something has got to give. One of the more complex problems retailers/brands need to solve is the environmental impact of online sales, and especially the returns.

Retailers do not have the luxury of time to define and develop meaningful sustainability initiatives. There is no time like the present to make significant commitments to sustainability and carbon reduction strategies. One of the more recent initiatives has been Walmart making a substantial investment in vertical farming and sustainability with their funding of Plenty. Walmart’s investment is part of a $400 million round of funding for Plenty led by One Madison Group and JS Capital, with participation from SoftBank Vision Fund. With the move, the country’s largest grocer is diving into a trendy area of food tech that brings farm produce closer to customers’ kitchen tables to boost freshness, limit waste, and promote sustainability. Indoor agriculture also has become a potential solution to unpredictable weather patterns and natural disasters, such as California wildfires fueled by climate change. Walmart sees the approach as an environmentally friendly way to ensure a reliable supply of high-quality and affordable produce year-round. Starting later this year, Walmart’s 250 stores in California will have leafy greens grown on a vertical… Read more »

I think most retailers assume they are trading off profit for sustainability. They think sustainable products will always be more expensive to the consumer, therefore not capturing sales. If retailers actually pursue sustainable product offerings, they will inevitably find brands they can stock at no additional cost to the consumer.

Among the biggest tradeoffs retailers may actually have to make is consistent inventory. If they source from sustainable brands or manufacturers that don’t have the demand yet, scalability to produce simply won’t be there.

It is critical for retailers to put sustainability initiatives as primary focus throughout their retail end-to-end as this is what customers will now expect. Accountability and transparency are key driving values that are aligned with today’s consumer and brands need to put more money into innovation to uphold sustainability claims and adhere to government mandates. There is no room for excuses anymore. The time to act is now.

There are so many responsible retailing solutions around product development and merchandising that we haven’t scratched the surface. Rethinking assortment planning and increase seasonless product, reduce sampling by enabling technology and digital product creation, and working with suppliers to reduce overproduction and minimum order quantities.

Over the last couple of years, primarily spurred by the Pandemic, we’ve seen the emergence of faster and faster delivery times, from 4 hours to 2 hrs to 20 minutes! Bundling of several orders with 20 minute cycles may not be possible and therefore, CO2 emissions increase. Weighing the balance of these initiatives becomes tricky with the public scrutiny on sustainability.

IoT sensors and the data analysis of in-store emissions is another huge area of opportunity where retailers can make tremendous progress. So is packaging. The entire Retailer/CPG industry must start to look at packaging in a different light. Does every case of water/isotonics need a piece of thick cardboard on the bottom of the shrink-wrapped package? Can it be eliminated or reduced in thickness?

Adhering to Scope 1 and 2 guidelines will require retailers to look at data lineage and data integration as a fundamental element so that immutable reporting can be achieved. There’s a lot of work to be done, but charting a path and adhering to it is paramount so consumers can see progress.

While I agree that sustainability has a substantially higher profile at the consumer and the industry level, price and perceived value will take precedence from the majority of consumers. I know what studies say but for low and mid-income families that have seen the price of their food and other products rise significantly, I believe they will pick the item that is perceived as providing more bang for the buck vs. being sustainable. At the higher income levels, sustainability will be a priority.

The rise of online retailing has exasperated the E in ESG. The carbon emissions of the last mile delivery and packaging severely impact the environment. Online orders delivered to the home require more packaging and have fewer items per transaction, and multi-item charges can result in multiple deliveries. Physical stores offering BOPIS capture the convenience of online and store pickup efficiencies. Making consumers aware of more sustainable ordering and delivery patterns can make a sizable dent in the carbon footprint of online products.

In addition to the Environmental factors, retailers can’t ignore the Social and Governance elements of ESG. Their customers have surely not!

Consumers will ultimately dictate the speed and depth of initiatives that they expect from retailers and brands. The key for the retail industry, including manufacturers/wholesalers, will be to make their progress meaningful and to deliver true impact.

As a marketer, I can appreciate the messaging and superficial efforts that are happening in the market just to be part of the conversation, but the reality is we may actually be creating more waste by trying to be sustainable.

One short-term way to succeed in this space is to produce less goods up front, which will ultimately reduce waste throughout the supply chain including product destruction and final transportation to off price channels.

Investing in the less sexy systems side of the retail business is the key. Having accurate planning systems, transparency throughout the supply chain and more targeted allocations for goods will ensure the highest sell-throughs with the least amount of product. That is a win for the brands, for the consumers and for the planet.

There is increasing pressure on retailers from consumers to be more sustainable. During the pandemic we saw consumers buying local and understanding that this helps the environment, possibly at the expense of cheaper imports. There has long been a drive to reduce packaging, much of which can be done without impacting shelf life and increasing wastage, which is a growing priority for customers. Food wastage in particular has multiple impacts on the environment — the cost of production, distribution is all wasted and then the cost of disposing of wasted food has a huge impact on the environment.

Technology has moved on considerably to enable retailers to manage inventory better and help reduce waste. It also helps in developing new ways of keeping food fresh without excess packaging. Cheap one-use clothing is now seen negatively and the growth of rental and second use clothing will only increase. It has to become a focus for retailers and increasing pressure on their strategy and policy will push them towards greater sustainability.

I appreciate the sentiment expressed here. Yet, the surveys do not necessarily reflect the true state of affairs. Customers DO prefer a sustainable alternative. However, it requires foregoing convenience, spending more, and making numerous lifestyle changes. Sadly, a handful of customers are willing to take on these challenges. Therefore, most environment-friendly retailers are battling with commercial scalability while trying to remain profitable. Leveraging existing tech and retail strategies such as BOPIS and pre-orders can help a retailer’s sustainability ambitions get off to a better start. Using BOPIS instead of last-mile delivery can help minimise carbon footprint, save money on logistics, and increase sales. Similarly, Pre-orders help reduce waste and curb the damages of fast fashion. Also, knowing a good approximation of how much to produce will always be valuable to a business. Consumers are taking note and it’s high time retailers took some substantial actions to mitigate the environmental damage. We still have a long way to go securing a more sustainable future. However, this shouldn’t stop people or businesses from doing the bare minimum… Read more »