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UK retailers halved carbon emissions since 2005: BRC

10 May '21
2 min read
Pic: Shutterstock
Pic: Shutterstock

Leading UK retailers have smashed 2020 carbon reduction targets, with carbon emissions having fallen by 49 per cent since 2005, far exceeding target of a 25 per cent absolute reduction, according to latest data from British Retail Consortium (BRC). However, there is still much more needed to reach ambitious target of supply chain reaching Net Zero by 2040.

Carbon emissions in stores and store deliveries also fell 46 per cent and 84 per cent respectively (when controlled for growth), the BRC said.

“It’s a fantastic achievement to have halved greenhouse gases from our stores and lorries in little over a decade. However, we recognise we can do much more by helping drive decarbonisation across our supply chains and supporting our customers, the British public, to live lower carbon lifestyles through the products they buy. Our Climate Action Roadmap sets out our path to net zero operations and supply chains by 2040,” BRC's head of Sustainability Peter Andrews said.

As part of the BRC’s Climate Action Roadmap, over 70 leading retailers have pledged to help the UK retail industry and its supply chain reach Net Zero by 2040. They have pledged to decarbonise stores by 2030 and deliveries by 2035; the roadmap will focus on the key challenge of working with suppliers to ensure that products sold are also net zero by 2040.

However, the latest data shows that while carbon emissions from transport fell 43 per cent when controlled for growth, just off the 45 per cent target, absolute emissions fell by just 15 per cent. To reduce transport emissions in the future, the BRC has recently commissioned research under the Climate Action Roadmap aimed at helping the industry rapidly decarbonise.

The BRC today announced that Steve Murrells, Co-op Group CEO, will chair the steering group of the Climate Action Roadmap that aims to drive forward these targets. The steering group includes CEOs and senior executives of some of the country’s best-known retailers, including Sainsbury’s, Iceland, IKEA, Mountain Warehouse, Dunelm and Feelunique and will establish and oversee the strategy and progress in getting the UK retail industry to Net Zero by 2040. This work is supported by five partnerships – one for each focus area of the Roadmap – with Crown Estate, DP World, Google, IBM and PWC.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)

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