The European Retail Forum for Sustainability published a report which highlights that companies in the forum are paying more attention to the greening of their supply chains, sustainable distribution systems and the use of renewable energies.

The report published by the European Retail Forum for Sustainability shows that environmental responsibility increasingly make business sense and contributes to EU policies to promote sustainable consumption and production. The report affirms that retailers are taking the environment into consideration in their business decisions more actively than ever. Recently it was also published a report which shows that recycling industry can boost the European economy.

The report points out a number of best practice achievements. To promote supply chain sustainability, the Metro Group, in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), introduced a supplier training programme to developing and emerging countries. Auchan achieved savings of almost 10,000 tons in the use of packaging material, while Mercadona eliminated 80% of single-use plastic bags in 150 stores. Tesco UK achieved the goal of sending zero waste to landfills, while Inditex reduced the average power consumption in 840 stores by 42%.

The Retail Forum was launched in March 2009 as a voluntary multi-stakeholder platform. Retailers in the Forum pledge to carry out specific environmental actions to contribute to sustainable consumption and resource efficiency. The latest monitoring report describes the 390 environmental commitments made in 3 categories (“what we sell”, “how we sell” and “communication”) by 2010 – 100 more than in 2009.