Sustainable Retail. From vision to action

The great paradox. At Decathlon, the first carbon assessment carried out in 2007 showed that 75% of the carbon impact was actually linked to the products (design, manufacturing, transportation.). Only two years ago, “sprinkling sustainable strategies” were still common in the retail industry. In 2021, retailers’ strategies have become more global and focus on the range management. “What emerged from many studies we conducted in the retail sector is that the main carbon emissions come from products themselves”, said Jules Coignard, C.E.O. of Circul’R. The subject is uncomfortable for a retail business where the credo has always been “the more products I offer, the biggest turnover I make”. “Many retailers tell us how hard it is for them to push these C.S.R. issues in their companies and to transform an organisation from the inside”, explained Laure Blondel, Consulting Director at Greenflex consulting, focused on sustainable transformation. “There is a real lack of alignment between the C.S.R. Director, the Marketing Director and the top management”. Quite often, retailers quote an issue in terms of competition and differentiation.