Anna Turrell has been appointed as the new Decathlon chief sustainability officer, and she will lead the sports equipment retailer’s green strategy and evolution to become a more circular business.
As reported on Green Retail World earlier this month, Turrell officially left her group-level sustainability director role at the UK’s largest retailer, Tesco, at the end of June. She was at the supermarket chain for three years having joined from manufacturer, Nestlé, where she was head of sustainability.
Decathlon has announced a raft of greener retailing measures in recent years, under its ‘Second Life’ programme, including introducing more circular practices such as a rental proposition to keep goods in use for longer. Decathlon UK also implemented a scheme this summer that allows its customers to receive credit towards a future purchase by bringing back their festival tents for repair and resale.
On a group level, Decathlon said it is evolving and transforming to meet the challenges of sustainable development based on its 2020-2026 Transition Plan. The retailer said the plan is co-written by team members from more than 30 countries, with its human resources, quality, compliance and finance teams coming together to create a roadmap based on “developing people, preserving nature and creating sustainable value”.
Other commitments from the group include the ambition for 100% of its electricity used in its stores and warehouses to be sourced from renewable sources by 2026. At the end of 2022, Decathlon said it was already at 84.8%.
Highlighting her switch from grocery to sports, Turrell wrote on LinkedIn: “Our health and wellness is about more that the food we eat (although this is a huge part), it’s about looking after the body we have and coming together as individuals and communities passionate about the sport, the game, the race, the PB, that one epic wave, a sun salutation.
“Which is why I’m excited to have joined the other side of the health and wellbeing story, as chief sustainability officer of Decathlon.”
She added: “I feel incredibly fortunate to be joining a dedicated and passionate team of people around the world, led by the brilliant [Decathlon CEO] Barbara Martin Coppola, for this next important step of the journey.”
A Decathlon spokesperson told Green Retail World: “Our commitment to help people, societies and the planet has never been stronger. Our customers also expect us to act, deliver and lead the way in building a more sustainable future.
“In addition to decarbonising our value chain, part of our actions will come through the development of new solutions for our customers. This will come most notably through new circular business models, including the development of services like Second Life, repair and rental.”
The spokesperson added: “Anna will lead this evolution, and accelerate our sustainability ambitions and commitments as Decathlon’s chief sustainability officer.
“She joined Decathlon earlier in July. Joining Decathlon from Tesco, Anna brings with her a wealth of experience that makes her uniquely placed to lead us on the exciting journey we are embarking on.”
Decathlon’s sustainability chief officer prior to Turrell’s appointment was Isabelle Guyader. She has now taken on the role of head of sustainability – sports and products, and will report to Fabien Brosse, chief sports & products officer.
[Image credit: Green Retail World]
