Retailers do a lot for sustainability

Although one might think that the COVID crises has led attantion away from the topic the oposit appear to be true.Experts even see the pandemic as an activator. It has drawn consumers’ attention to sustainability.

Global health focus

Consumers had have been experiencing in different lifestyle because of the restrictions. They come to realise the importance of their own health and the health of the Planet.

Retailers are showing more and more responsability with actions to tackle sustainability. In their stores this include switching to energy saving freezer cabinets, increased use of natural lighting and LED lighting, installing solar panels for green energy or setting up vertical farming projects.

Greening stores

Last month Jumbo in the Netherlands opened the most sustainable supermarket in the Benelux.

The store is heated by the heat release from the refrigareted and freezer shelves. Seeds were planted on the large part of the roof and the building is eqipped with 360 solar panels which ensures the green energy supply.

To build the store extensive use was made of recycle and reusable materials. The enviroment of the building was also ecologically designed and houses an insect hotel and there are baskets for birds.

Similar instore are being built by other supermarket retailers. Colruyt has 150 retail projects running around sustainability. Tesco has its 4R strategy – remove, reduce, reuse, recycle. Sainsbury’s is investing 1 billion pounds to achieve net zero emissions  in its own operations by 2040  and will design all f its  new stores to minimise energy consumption.

Pays off

And also the discounter mentality and sustainability can go well together. Amongst others Aldi and Lidl have had the topic of their agenda since they have long recognised that sustainability helps reduce costs. In the end it pays to use less energy, resources and materials.

In addition retailers are looking at transportation and switching to more energy  efficient and energy saving versions of trucks and delivery vans like electric and biometan powered vehicles.

Assortment holds the message

Another important way for retailers to stand out is by the products they sell in their stores. Privat label is key to shw to the customers that a company cares for the enviroment. In Germany dm annunced the launch of climate and enviromentally neutral products in its own brand called Rockrange. All of Rossmann’s 260 Alterra cosmetics brand are climate neutral. In Portugal Continental just launched a line of ecological products under the Continental Eco brand. Albert Heijn in the Netherlands launched its own enviromental friendly logo for fruit nad vegetables that indicats that the producers compensate for their greenhouse gas emission.

High expectation pressure

Is addition numerous actions are being taken to reduce plastic and waste. Retailers’ ambition to tackle sustainability put pressure on the private label manufecturers, who may adapt to the sourcing to comply to the new demands.

More sustainable packaging, use of raw materials and technologies are required as key to sustainability. Private label manufacturers would need clear more unified requirements for sustainable production.  The demand placed on the manufecturers are rather fregmented. When the protocol is clear they can work with it. The single-use plastics EU directive implementation is a common responsability at the moment. Raw materials like palm oil are key for more sustainability.

All private label producers mentioned the higher prices as it comes to changing methods towards a more sustainable production. Sustainability is high on the agenda of Nordic countries, its is already a must in Germany.