Headlines from our Net Zero Thinktank Roundtables

On 29 March, around 50 retail leaders convened at our Climate Action Roadmap thinktank during Retail Week Live.  In an insightful, supportive and valuable conversation,  Roadmap signatories gathered to network, collaborate and swap notes on their businesses’ decarbonisation. 

BRC CEO Helen Dickinson introduced the session with some stark reminders of why we were there.

• Arctic ice is 65% thinner than 50 years ago
• By 2050, the 2018 heatwave in the UK could be a biennial event
• By 2050, there could be over 1 billion climate refugees
• The UK is set to become a hotter and wetter country

This is why Government target of Net Zero by 2050.

For retail, this is both a big challenge and a big opportunity. The full lifecycle of sold goods has a footprint of over 200 million tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of 57 coal-fired power plants in one year.  And for each household in the UK, 30% of their greenhouse gas emissions is from consumer goods.

Hence, BRC launching our Climate Action Roadmap , ambitiously seeking to go further and faster than the Government:

• Delivering Net Zero, including all supply chains, by 2040.
• Sourcing 100% renewable electricity and 100% zero-carbon LGVs by 2030
• All retail sites powered by renewable energy by 2035
• 100% zero-carbon Heavy Goods Vehicles by 2035

A summary of the roundtable discussions are below, centring on questions regarding successes, obstacles and the role of leadership.