Green Retail World has covered news from Gucci, Berghaus, and Co-op this week – not to mention the latest in-depth article in the Seeds of Change interview series featuring eBay’s chief sustainability officer, Renee Morin.
The following news in brief rounds up the week in greener retailing.
Back Market head of sustainability now reports to CFO
Online marketplace for refurbished goods, Back Market, has announced that its head of sustainability, Camille Richard, will now report to the chief financial officer (CFO).
The company said the switch for Richard to report to CFO, Clément Petit, highlights the importance of sustainability in driving business growth.
Back Market’s change in reporting structure will align financial performance with long-term sustainability objectives, it said, which it hopes will result in the sustainability team having more visibility and influence across the business.
By sharing more data and insights with the finance team on the bottom-line benefits of sustainable practices, Back Market’s aim is to drive sustainability initiatives more effectively.
Richard said: “It’s a strong signal we’re sending out.
“But for us, it’s a logical evolution. What’s particularly significant about this change is the ability to fully measure ROI on sustainability initiatives, showing these initiatives can positively impact financial performance and the planet. A company simply can’t ignore the reality of the society it is living in. Rather, businesses must recognise, measure, and mitigate environmental impact.”
Petit added: “Sustainability is in our DNA. Back Market was founded to deliver a sustainable alternative to the highly damaging new tech industry. So for us, this change to the reporting structure was a natural evolution for our sustainable-by-design business model.”
Tesco now has EV charging at 600 stores
Tesco’s Kirkwall superstore has become the 600th of its UK stores to have electric vehicle (EV) charging points installed.
The UK’s largest retailer said that since it teamed up with Volkswagen and Pod Point to launch an EV charging network in 2019, the charging points have provided 43,218kWh of energy.
Some 2,500 EV charging bays have been installed at 600 Tesco stores across the UK over the last three years – with all electricity used to charge cars generated from renewable sources. The network also includes 129 rapid chargers.
Jason Tarry, Tesco UK CEO, said: “From Orkney all the way to Southampton, we’re helping customers to make sustainable choices by giving them somewhere easy and convenient to charge while they shop with us.”
Erik Fairbairn, Pod Point founder & CEO, added: “Meeting the 600-store target is an awesome achievement and makes the Tesco rollout by far the UK’s biggest retail EV charging network.”
Hurr launches delivery via electric vehicle with Packfleet
Fashion rental platform Hurr is now using Packfleet’s EVs for online deliveries in London.
Hurr customers will also be able to customise their delivery time windows, and follow their order with live map tracking.
To mark the new partnership, Hurr customers can get £10 off their first order using the code PACKFLEET10.
Walmart unveils Clean Beauty platform
Clean Beauty – an online shop that helps shoppers find beauty products that are made without ingredients they may not want – has been launched by Walmart.
The list of products included on the site have appeared after the Walmart team analysed state and federal regulations, consulted suppliers and called on experts such as the Environmental Defense Fund to understand what types of product meet the criteria for ‘clean’ beauty.
Walmart said it comes as consumers increasingly request products without certain ingredients as well as better transparency around what goes into them.
Just over a month to go until Retail Technology Show 2023
This year’s Retail Technology Show, which takes place at London’s Olympia on 26-27 April, features several green thinking conference sessions that Green Retail World believes are worth attending.
As media partners for the event, we’ll be pulling together a more comprehensive article on this in due course, but guests to the two-day conference and exhibition will be able to hear from:
ANDREW OPIE, director of food & sustainability at British Retail Consortium
STEFANIE SAHMEL, head of sustainability and B Corp ambassador at Abel & Cole
SARA BRENNAN, positive business director at Pentland Brands
And there’s much more to look forward to. Sign up and register for the event here
[Image credit: Tesco]
