The UK retail industry has signed up to a range of ambitious targets for reducing its impact on the environment, having beaten the previous targets across all areas. The targets were unveiled during an event in Parliament, hosted by North Swindon MP and Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Retail, Justin Tomlinson.
Commitments announced at the event include a collective pledge to reduce absolute carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2020, putting the industry well on course to meet the 80 per cent overall target set by the UK Climate Change Bill.
The event in Westminster marked the launch of a new report, A Better Retailing Climate: Driving Resource Efficiency. The new report sees retailers committing to an ambitious and challenging environmental strategy - one designed to make a significant impact on the way our goods are produced, sold and used in the home. The new set of targets and commitments demonstrates that the UK retail sector is innovative, forward thinking and a true global leader in this area.
The report showed that the 25 signatories, who represent half of UK retail by turnover, exceeded all their targets for reducing waste, energy and water usage up to 2013. It also showcased what the industry is doing across a wide range of environmental areas including responsible sourcing, sustainable products and reducing water and energy usage.
In a sector first, the supermarkets signed up to the initiative have also committed to publish their data on food waste created at the retail stage, along with annual progress reports. The signatories, which include all of the major grocery retailers, already provide data on waste in the supply chain to the resource efficiency body WRAP, and are working closely with customers to help reduce food waste in the home.
Other new targets announced include a commitment to reducing emissions from refrigeration gases by 80 per cent by 2020, and to divert less than 1 per cent of waste to landfill by the same year.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: "It was a real pleasure to work with the British Retail Consortium on this project. Retailers have led the charge in rebuilding our economy after the financial crash and not only contributed in terms of jobs and growth but also took into account their social obligation to protect the environment. These new targets to reduce waste and energy usage are tough but I know retailers will not only reach them but surpass them as before".
British Retail Consortium Director General, Helen Dickinson, said: "Retailers in the UK have made significant progress in reducing their impact on the environment. I'm delighted that the signatories are pushing themselves to achieve against even more ambitious commitments, having gone above and beyond the last set of targets. The strength of commitment is plain to see when you look at how much progress has been made in the last decade: for example, only 6 per cent of waste was sent to landfill in 2013, down from 47 per cent in 2005. But retailers will continue to keep this momentum going: they recognise that it makes business sense and delivers real environmental benefits as well as value for their customers."
Rt. Hon. Owen Paterson MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "This initiative has been very successful in showing how industry can reduce the environmental impact of the retail sector. It also highlights how it is possible to grow businesses in a sustainable way that is not only good for the environment but for the economy as well."
