The Retailer Winter Edition 2022

THE RE TA I L ER

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NEWS FROM THE BRC

A LOW-CARBON RETAIL FUTURE

David Lonsdale Director Scottish Retail Consortium

C OP26 is behind us. It was exhilarating to see so many countries come together in Glasgow late last year to deliver tangi ble progress and momentum towards tackling climate change. The attention will now rightly turn from the lofty rhetoric and fresh commit ments made in Scotland’s largest city to what each of us must do going forward.

For retailers the route forward is clear - we must continue to build the low-carbon retail industry of tomorrow, regardless of the myriad immediate pressures facing the sector today. Imagine for a moment a future where the environmental impact of every purchase is calculated for us at the point of sale. A future where our receipt offers us not only the financial cost of our purchases but its carbon footprint as well. Where we recycle much more alongside our old clothes and glass bottles? Where we repair our broken down electronics rather than replace them? Where waste is frowned upon and packaging is shunned? We’re not there yet, but retailers are already making strides on many of these ideas and others, offering refill zones and more. The speed of change in retail remains breakneck, but it is essential that stores continue to respond to customer demands for more ethical and sustainable goods.

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For retailers the route forward is clear - we must continue to build the low-carbon retail industry of tomorrow, regardless of the myriad immediate pressures facing the sector today.”