How Retailers Can Accelerate Sustainability to Keep Up With Major Brands

Earlier this year, Walmart announced that it reached its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1 billion metric tons across its product chain earlier than expected. Achieving this milestone six years ahead of schedule not only demonstrates the company’s steadfast commitment to sustainability but also sets a compelling example for others to establish and accomplish their own ambitious targets.

When it comes to making a positive environmental impact, the efforts of one business are not enough. This is why an increasing number of retailers are prioritizing sustainability, reaping the economic benefits, meeting customer demands, and contributing to meaningful change. Most forward-thinking companies recognize that an acceptable sustainability footprint is a must if they’re going to be viable. 

The following three-step sustainability guide offers a clear and quick road map for turning goals into action, allowing retail stores to share their own success stories.

Step 1: Identify hot spots.

For retailers, it's important to carefully select key sustainability themes for their business and prioritize actions that will have the most significant and lasting impact. These could include GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, waste/circularity or sustainable sourcing. 

Once priorities have been established, define the appropriate level of ambition for each area and evaluate the gaps between where:

• a company currently stands;
• competition lies;
• consumer and regulatory expectations are heading; and
• a company aims to be.

For instance, a leading retailer may identify food waste and emissions as two critical areas for making sustainable progress. Through thorough data analysis, the company may find that fruit and vegetables contribute to 75 percent of the store's food waste, and 45 percent of Scope 3 indirect emissions are generated by products related to animal protein. This is an opportunity for the retailer to significantly reduce waste by incorporating programs that evaluate an operation’s ins and outs, ultimately leading to increased profitability and an improved corporate image, much like Walmart.

Step 2: Apply insights. 

Once retailers have identified hot spots, they should focus on implementing those insights or seeking help from a service provider that can offer guidance.

For example, a retail business might discover that it's wasting excessive packaging material or offering products with subpar packaging design. Instead of contributing to the estimated 82 million tons of discarded packaging material annually or going against consumer preferences, sustainable alternatives are available. 

Such alternatives could include:

• Working with a supplier that uses packaging made from 100 percent recyclable material.
• Adjusting portions so they’re right-sized for every season of business.
• Participating in a program that addresses the separation and recycling of food and its packaging so both can be kept out of the landfill.

Step 3: Thrive in a team environment.

Achieving meaningful sustainability is difficult without the cooperation of everyone in a retailer’s operational orbit. About 85 percent to 95 percent of GHG in retail comes from Scope 3 indirect emissions, which retailers can only address with the involvement of their supply chain partners.

By collaborating and sharing information with employees, partners, service providers and management companies, organizations can tap into a wealth of knowledge, accelerate change, and foster a sense of collective progress toward their sustainability goals.

For retailers, sustainability shouldn't just be an ambitious goal but a practical and achievable goal. By taking a systematic approach and looking beyond short-term successes, retailers can overcome inertia and swiftly enhance their environmental impact.

Ray Hatch is president and CEO of Quest Resource Management Group, a national leader in environmental waste and recycling services.