Using a new industry-leading footprinting methodology underpinned by real-world data, a new report by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) provides a comprehensive assessment of progress, barriers, and priorities for the retail industry on the road to Net Zero.
UK Retail 2025 Net Zero Stocktake reinforces the need for retailers to step up collaboration across the value chain (‘scope 3’ emissions from supply chains and customer use) and beyond to reduce emissions embedded in supply chains and consumers’ homes, if they are to meet the net zero challenge head on.
With the new methodology, utilising improved data quality and broader coverage, the report gives a more accurate picture of industry emissions and the accompanying survey highlighted areas where progress has been made:
- The overwhelming majority (91%) of retail respondents have an established GHG emissions baseline and publicly report emissions
- 4 in 5 drivers trained in fleets using fuel efficiency programmes
- 90% of all new retail buildings are lit by LEDs
Yet with over 93% of retail emissions falling outside of direct control, substantive industry progress depends on joined-up retailer collaboration to influence global suppliers into action, British consumers toward large-scale behaviour change, and UK government into supportive policy.
The report shows that only a third (30%) of the very biggest suppliers provide GHG emissions data and 70% of products do not have information for consumers on responsible sourcing.
Progress in these areas has been held up by systemic challenges, including policy uncertainty, supply chain complexity, financial pressures, and technological limitations.
The BRC will continue to support retailers to deliver the transformative change needed by convening cross-industry stakeholders, continuing to track annual progress, and shaping policy to unlock investment and drive momentum.
Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC, said:
In 2020, we launched the Climate Action Roadmap to set the ambition for UK retail to reach net zero by 2040. Five years on, we must use the takeaways from this report to drive the industry from collective ambition to a step change in collaborative action. The climate emergency is no longer tomorrow’s problem. It is here today; disrupting supply chains, driving shortages, increasing costs for households – and threatening the long-term stability and resilience of UK retail. Climate change is a very real risk to businesses and the consequences of inaction are simply too big to ignore. We need more radical collaboration between companies to bring down emissions and step up the drive to net zero.
