ESG Evolve for Retail and Consumer Brands leaders
This article is provided by BRC Associate Member, RPC.
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Are you a senior leader responsible for delivery of ESG strategy and keen to understand how the industry is approaching it in practice? Over the past few months, RPC have been in conversation with senior leaders across the retail and consumer brands sector to understand how ESG is being delivered in practice, not just discussed in theory. These conversations form part of RPC's ESG Evolve, ongoing research and thought leadership initiative focused on the practical realities of ESG implementation in a fast-changing environment.
What RPC are hearing is clear: ESG remains a priority, but delivery looks different across businesses. Governance, ownership, resourcing, internal narrative and culture often determine whether initiatives gain traction or lose momentum.
A shifting ESG landscape
A number of common pressures are emerging as businesses navigate increasing complexity, both within their own operations and across their supply chains, from regulators and beyond.
ESG reporting continues to be a challenge. Legal, risk and sustainability teams are managing a growing volume of obligations, from CSRD to EPR, alongside increasing scrutiny from regulators, investors and customers. Many are questioning how to ensure reporting remains strategic and credible, rather than becoming a compliance exercise.
Supply chain risk is another pressure point. While expectations around transparency are rising, visibility often drops off beyond tier one. Businesses are being held to account for supplier behaviours they can’t always see or control, raising questions about where responsibility begins and ends.
However, despite these pressures, there is a sense of progress. Many businesses are starting to view ESG as a source of commercial value – not just a regulatory requirement or key facet of being a responsible business. Whether through access to capital, supply chain resilience, cost savings, efficiency gains or brand relevance, ESG is beginning to earn its place in core strategy discussions.
That shift, however, is not automatic. For legal and sustainability leaders, translating ESG into outcomes that resonate with the board, and embedding it across markets with divergent expectations, remains a work in progress.
What’s next
The full findings from this project, together with a practical toolkit, will be published in RPC's ESG Evolve white paper later this year. For now, the themes emerging from these conversations offer a snapshot of how ESG is evolving in practice, and where the biggest challenges and opportunities are likely to emerge next.
If you're exploring any of the issues raised above, or would like to compare notes on your approach, please register your interest in being involved in this project, including joining the white paper launch in the Autumn. Find out more about RPC's ESG practice here.
