{"id":8794,"date":"2020-04-01T06:15:20","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T05:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blueeyedsun.co.uk\/blog\/?p=8794"},"modified":"2020-06-10T09:35:05","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T08:35:05","slug":"how-can-you-be-a-sustainable-retailer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blueeyedsun.co.uk\/blog\/how-can-you-be-a-sustainable-retailer\/","title":{"rendered":"How can you be a Sustainable Retailer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

How can one be a sustainable retailer? I mean, really. Retailers trade in \u2018stuff\u2019. Stuff, which takes more stuff to be manufactured (up to 70 times more, according to StoryofStuff.org<\/a>). It\u2019s also mostly stuff that\u2019s shipped halfway round the world burning carbon producing fossil fuels that pollute our planet and produce CO2.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Increased CO2 levels are leading to rising temperatures, melting polar ice caps and higher sea levels. Global warming could potentially cause massive population displacement as resources like drinking water dry up.<\/p>\n

The stuff we sell also tends to be covered in plastic throughout the supply chain. Plastics take a very long time to break down and much of it ends up polluting the environment. With our increasingly polluted environment and global warming, retailers and suppliers alike are keen to manage the balance between meeting all of our desires to live more sustainably and the need to remain profitable. The question is how?<\/p>\n

Where to Start<\/b><\/p>\n

How can we be a more sustainable retailer? What are the actions we can all take? According to one climate change study<\/a>, there are five key things we do that have the highest impact on reducing CO2 levels. Regardless of our place in the supply chain to consumers, each of these five actions could reduce at least 0.8 tonnes of CO2 from our personal output per annum:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. <\/i>Have Less Kids\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The biggest single action (by far) that the world\u2019s population can take going forward to reduce global warming is to have less children. If you look at future emissions of descendants based on historical rates, having one fewer child saves around 60 tonnes of CO2 per annum. Each human being that is added to our planet (particularly in developed nations like the UK) has a massive impact on CO2 levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    2. Drive Less\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    Transport is responsible for nearly 30% of the EU\u2019s total CO2 emissions, of which 72% comes from road transportation. A lot of this is in our supply chain of lorries moving our stuff around. It\u2019s also in the cars we drive and the public transport we use.<\/p>\n

    The ideal scenario is to ditch your car altogether and use public transport. This isn\u2019t always practical for us though. Another alternative is to car share. Using more environmentally friendly electric vehicles will also help to slash your C02 output.<\/p>\n

    Cutting CO2 from our supply chains is trickier. Ideally orders should be consolidated to have less deliveries (and therefore less miles used). With electric trucks currently already available, we will need to encourage our carriers to start switching to these or hybrids.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Something more consumers are now considering is whether they really need the \u2018stuff\u2019 they are buying or not. This could be the reason for the rise in food gifting and certain fashion items remaining strong for certain retailers. We all need to eat and be clothed. Make sure you have products in your offering that people can\u2019t do without.<\/p>\n

    3. Fly Less\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    A transatlantic round-trip flight can release 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person. This is as much as the average yearly emissions for one person in India. Most of us that fly are polluting the planet for the rest of the global population. It\u2019s estimated that more than 90% of the global population have never flown before. With global CO2 emissions growing at about 317 megatons per year, many of these people will be displaced by rising temperatures and reduced access to water and resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The amount of CO2 released is up to nine times higher if you fly first class (because of the extra space in the premium section of the plane). Even local flights to and from Europe can add up to half of ton of CO2 per passenger.<\/p>\n

    Carbon off-sets should be made mandatory on all plane ticket purchases to help plant tress and support projects that reduce CO2 to offset flight pollution. Make sure your products are shipped by boat or produced locally to reduce the CO2 produced from your supply chains. Buy local seasonal fruit and veg to reduce air miles in your daily diet.<\/p>\n

    4. Buy Clean Energy<\/i><\/p>\n

    Switching to green energy supplier, Bulb, saved me three tonnes of CO2 last year and reduced my energy carbon footprint by 25%. You can save up to \u00a3247 off your bill and get up to \u00a350 credit if you sign up using my referral link here<\/a>. Bulb is the UK\u2019s biggest green supplier, other specialists are available. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    5. Eat Less Meat<\/i><\/p>\n

    Beef production requires 20 times more land (and water) and emits 20 times more green house gas emissions per unit of edible protein than common plant-based protein sources like beans, peas and lentils. If cattle were their own nation, they would be the world\u2019s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the USA. The methane that cows produce is 30 times more potent<\/a> than CO2 as a heat-trapping gas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    With developing nations eating more meat<\/a>, the world needs to cut back on meat consumption. It\u2019s just not sustainable. You don\u2019t have to become vegan or vegetarian to make a difference. You can halve your environmental impact by eating less meat and dairy. Food retailers can help by reducing the meat and dairy products they sell as well as introducing plant based alternatives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Climate<\/a>
    Data from Wynes, Seth, and Kimberly A Nicholas. 2017. \u201cThe Climate Mitigation Gap: Education and Government Recommendations Miss the Most Effective Individual Actions.\u201d Environmental Research Letters 12(7). DOI: 10.1088\/1748-9326\/aa7541. Image credit: Catrin Jakobsson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    What else can you do?<\/b><\/p>\n

    These five actions have the biggest impact. There are also loads of smaller changes you can make. These include recycling, washing clothes in cold water instead of hot water, hang drying clothes instead of tumble drying and upgrading your lightbulbs to energy efficient LEDs instead of tungsten bulbs. Many of these smaller changes can easily be actioned in the workplace.<\/p>\n

    What about plastics?<\/b><\/p>\n

    Over six percent of UK consumers prefer to buy from retailers that are reducing their use of single-use plastics. They also want greater transparency in how companies source their materials.<\/p>\n

    In 1950, the world\u2019s population of 2.5 billion produced 1.5 million tons of plastic. In 2016, a global population of more than 7 billion people produced over 320 million tons of plastic. This is set to double by 2034.<\/p>\n

    In 2015 an estimated 55% of global plastic waste was discarded, 25% was incinerated and 20% was recycled. That discarded waste becomes plastic pollution that causes serious issues with our wildlife. At current rates, 99% of seabirds will carry plastic in their guts by 2050. Plastic is chocking our wildlife to death.<\/p>\n

    What can retailers do?<\/b><\/p>\n

    Be aware of the core sustainability issues and do your best to move in the right direction to create and support change. Communicate these changes to your customers and involve them in your journey.<\/p>\n

    Environmental Campaigns like Plastic Free July<\/a>, Plastic Free Lent and #PlasticFreeFriday<\/a> are great ways to engage your team, community, suppliers and customers. It\u2019s tricky ditching plastic and you learn loads doing it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Opportunities<\/b><\/p>\n

    With more people avoiding single-use items, products that help with this are on the rise. Reusable bags, lunchboxes, water bottles and reusable cups are obvious easy wins to carry in store.<\/p>\n

    With cards, it\u2019s important that publishers include their FSC credentials<\/a> on their products. FSC means that the supply chain is monitored to ensure that the paper used on our cards comes from sustainably managed sources.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s also essential that publishers ditch plastic wherever possible. Almost 70% of greeting cards sold in the UK are now plastic free after changes were made by multiples. PLA compostable alternatives are a good interim measure for independents, but long term, consumers will want to see PLA reduce too.<\/p>\n

    Sustainable Focus<\/b><\/p>\n

    The key to becoming a sustainable retailer is to make your own changes personally first. Then, from there, build environmental awareness and sustainability into your business so that it\u2019s more than just lip service. It makes it much easier to talk to others about changes that you have made yourself. It\u2019s also more inspiring and it has a more powerful effect.<\/p>\n

    The other important thing to do is to communicate these changes to your customers and community, so they can hear and see how you are taking steps in the right direction. It\u2019s not about being perfect. It\u2019s about taking action and sharing it.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    See the slides from my talk on How to be a Sustainable Retailer at Spring Fair at the NEC:<\/p>\n