Emissions from retailers such as Morrison's, John Lewis and Sainsbury's down a third since 2005 The UK's leading retailers have met their industry climate targets two years early, trade body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed today. Thirty retailers - including Morrison's, John Lewis Partnership, Kingfisher and Sainsbury's - are signed up to BRC's Better Retail Better World scheme, which includes a target for members to cut their carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2020. Members have powered past this goal two years early, BRC said, with emissions down 36 per cent since 2005. The emissions drop was achieved by installing LED lighting in stores and offices, replacing chillers with energy efficient models, and installing solar arrays on distribution centres, BRC reported. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said "significant progress" has been made by businesses to curb their environment impact, but warned firms must not "underestimate" the size of the challenge. "We are facing a climate emergency; it is ever more important for businesses to unite to tackle these global challenges," she said. Other targets included reducing the proportion of waste sent to landfill to one per cent and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from refrigeration by 80 per cent. Among participants two per cent of waste is now sent to landfill, and greenhouse gas emissions from refrigeration are down 55 per cent. The BRC admitted more work is needed to curb refrigeration emissions, which are highly potent greenhouse gases, and to accelerate the decarbonisation of transport. From 2020 BRC plans to draw up a new set of targets for the industry every two years through to 2030, with targets explicitly linked to the Sustainable Development Goals agenda.
Leading retailers have hit industry climate targets two years early, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC said that in 2016 UK retail sales grew by 2.7%, compared with a year earlier, and were up 2.1% on 2015. The BRC said its members have exceeded this goal two years ahead of schedule, reducing emissions by 36% since 2005.