Trade bodies, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), have joined the Race to Zero Accelerator Pledge at the United Nations COP26 climate summit.
The pledge is the brainchild of The Breakthroughs 2030: Retail Campaign, which was launched earlier this year as the industry came together to focus on finding ways to reduce its impact on the environment.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, H&M Group, Ikea parent Ingka Group, Kingfisher, Walmart, and Best Buy are the campaign’s founding members.
They have now launched the Race to Zero Retail Accelerator Pledge as an opportunity for global, regional and national retail associations to commit to galvanise their members to take coordinated climate action and achieve a genuine step-change in progress in the battle to ensure global heating remains at non-catastrophic levels.
Joining the Race to Zero Accelerator Pledge means the trade associations gain access to best practices, capacity building resources, communication tools and guidance – all of which can be shared with their members.
Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC, said: “We are delighted to be the first major retail association to sign the Race to Zero Retail Accelerator Pledge, as part of BRC’s Climate Action Roadmap.
“Working with Race to Zero as an accelerator program strengthens our roadmap, providing another catalyst to go faster and further on the industry’s ground-breaking journey to net zero.”
ARA CEO, Paul Zahra, added: “Having navigated the global pandemic, we are now moving on to tackle the next big global disruption – climate change.
“The science is clear, the case for change is compelling and our members are acting, with 40% of Australia’s retail trade already covered by net-zero commitments. Becoming a Race to Zero Accelerator will galvanise our intent, connect our members with global best practice and let the global supply chain know that Australian retail is ready to take action to address climate change.”
Read more about COP26 on Green Retail World
[Image credit: Green Retail World]
