On Earth Day, Retail Week looks at how some big-name retailers aim to act on sustainability.
Amazon’s The Climate Pledge
Tech and retail giant Amazon revealed that more than 100 businesses globally have now signed up to The Climate Pledge, launched last June.
Signatories commit to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years early and become carbon net-zero by 2040.
Retailer signatories include Sainsbury’s and frozen food specialist Iceland, which became one of the world’s first grocers to sign up to the initiative in February 2021.
In order to meet their net-zero goals earlier, The Climate Pledge encourages signatories to “launch initiatives around innovative packaging, sustainable product design, educational campaigns, and sustainable shopping experiences.”
Amazon also offers a supporting Climate Pledge Fund, designed to ”support the development of sustainable and decarbonising technologies” that will help signatories meet the pledge.
Established with an initial $2bn, the fund has a global remit and invests in businesses with a focus on “transportation and logistics: energy generation, storage, and utilisation; manufacturing and materials; circular economy; and food and agriculture”.
Amazon UK country manager John Boumphrey said: “We are delighted to welcome more than 20 new UK-based businesses who are committed to taking urgent action and meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement early. These companies add to the collective impact at scale that Climate Pledge signatories create, helping to decarbonise the economy and preserve the Earth for future generations.”
Oliver Bonas and Asos’ pre-loved clothing drive
In a bid to curb the amount of clothing sent to landfill, Oliver Bonas and Asos have launched initiatives enabling customers to choose to add a charity donation bag to their order.
Oliver Bonas has partnered with online charity shop Re-Fashion to help customers recycle their old clothes.
From Thursday 22, customers will be able to opt in to receive a Re-Fashion parcel bag with their order, which can then be filled with unwanted clothing and returned via Collect+.
Oliver Bonas said: “We are committed to being kind in everything we do, from how we treat each other to how we look after the environment. Re-fashion offers a way for our customers to raise money for good causes and recycle their clothes – a double win.”
Re-Fashion works with a variety of charities and donates part of each sale – the current charity partner is The Rieves Foundation, which helps support sustainable initiatives, volunteering and education projects for young people.
Similarly, Asos has partnered with DPD to launch the ‘ReLove’ service.
Asos customers expecting a DPD delivery can now use the YourDPD app to select the option to donate unwanted clothing to one of five charities: Scope, Marie Curie, British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross or The Children’s Society.
DPD will then pick up the parcel while dropping off the customer’s Asos order, and deliver it to the chosen charity shop.
Asos chief strategy officer Patrik Silén said: ”Our focus has always been on providing our customers with an outstanding retail experience, and a key element of that is giving them opportunities to shop with us more responsibly.
“We know that our customers are very active in donating their pre-loved clothing and that they see it as a great way of keeping products in use and out of landfill.”
The two initiatives are a step in the right direction to encourage consumers to think about the end-life of their garments - and offer a convenient option for those who don’t have a wealth of charity shops nearby.
Ikea invests in renewable energy
Ikea parent Ingka group has unveiled an investment of €4bn (£3.4bn) to “help support the transition to a renewable energy future”.
Ingka has already made €2.5bn worth of investments in that field in the past decade - owning and managing 547 wind turbines and 10 solar parks in 15 countries, as well as installing 935,000 solar panels on the roofs of Ikea stores and warehouses.
As a result, Ingka generates more renewable energy globally than it consumes but is seeking to ensure 100% renewable energy across the entire value chain.
The new investments will focus on adding wind and solar projects in new countries. Ingka is also looking into developing expertise in areas such as energy storage, hydrogen fuel development, and charging infrastructure.
Ikea has also committed to the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels - and has reserved an additional €1bn to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions over the next five years.
Ingka Group chief sustainability officer Pia Heidenmark Cook says: “Using renewable energy across our operations and value chain is a significant part of delivering on our science-based targets and commitment to the Paris Agreement. We have already come a long way, and in this critical decade we need to come together to accelerate a just transition to a society powered by renewable energy.”
Ikea’s sustainability drive has been evident in recent years, with the launch of its “Buy Back” initiative and focus on the circular economy.
Zalando’s ‘value-based’ browsing option
In its It Takes Two report this week, German etailer Zalando said the fashion industry needs to help make sustainable choices “more attractive, realistic, and accessible” for customers.
The report makes 10 recommendations for fashion retailers in order to drive change and help close the gap between consumers’ attitudes and behaviour.
Aiming to lead by example, Zalando has implemented the recommendation “speak a sustainability language everyone can understand” by introducing a new tool on its website, which will go live on April 22 – Earth Day.
Using the tool, customers can browse certain items based on their personal sustainable and ethical values - for example, water conservation, worker wellbeing, reuse of materials, animal welfare, reducing emissions, and extending the life of fashion.
While the etailer introduced a sustainability flag on products made using more sustainable materials or practices in 2018, the latest initiative goes one step further and encourages customers to take charge of their own consumption and make more informed choices.
In addition, Zalando has made further investments in its pre-owned offer, enabling customers in seven new markets – Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, and Sweden - to trade in and buy pre-owned fashion.
“We want 25% of our gross merchandise value to come from more sustainable products by 2023,” says Zalando co-chief executive David Schneider.
HelloFresh fully circular packaging
German-based food box subscription retailer HelloFresh has unveiled new fully circular packaging for its products on Earth Day.
The retailer has worked with US-based paper production company Pratt Industries to develop cardboard packaging made of 100% post-consumer recycled material for HelloFresh and EveryPlate meal kits.
HelloFresh said the initiative, which launches today in the US, will save over 115,000 trees, 47.6 million gallons of water, and will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by over 6,800 tons in a year.
The retailer is also implementing a new ‘Box Fit’ programme - based on its algorithm-enhanced tech platform - to “assign the smallest possible box size to a customer’s order based on the volume and size of contents”, further cutting down on waste and emissions in its production and supply chain.
The retailer is already 100% carbon neutral and also aims to cut down on food waste through its demand-driven subscription model.
HelloFresh US chief executive Uwe Voss said: “Our goal in changing the way people eat forever is to provide better access to fresh ingredients in a more sustainable way.
“The introduction of fully circular packaging is a significant and measurable step towards achieving our long-term sustainability strategy.”
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