Retailers will have to collect and analyse all kinds of new data if they are to prove that they are going green, writes Joanna Perry

Going green requires retailers to provide much more information to their consumers so they are also able to make informed choices.

For instance, in late April, Tesco added carbon labels to some of its products in conjunction with the Carbon Trust. The labels inform shoppers of the amount of CO2 equivalent released into the atmosphere through the products’ manufacture and distribution. They also compare the products’ carbon footprint with the average carbon footprint for its category.

Research commissioned by BT has shown that, in the past year, just over a quarter of consumers have turned down a product or service from a supplier they felt did not have a strong sustainability record. 60 per cent would be prepared to spend extra on a product that was more environmentally and socially responsible. So there can be benefits to all these calculations.

IT research firm Gartner says that the limited carbon labelling that is starting to appear on a small range of consumer goods will start to embed the idea in people’s minds. It believes that the area of carbon accounting, tracking and product labelling will explode over the next two years.

Retailers themselves will also demand more information about the products and services they buy for their own use. Gartner says that this will happen with the IT products and services they purchase and that retailers will use whatever information suppliers give them.

Gartner has made predictions for how the IT market is going to change in response to the need to be seen to be green in the next few years. By 2009, more than a third of IT organisations will have one or more environmental requirement in their top-six buying criteria for IT-related goods and services. By 2010, 75 per cent of organisations will use full lifecycle energy and CO2 footprints as mandatory buying criteria for PC hardware. And, by 2011, suppliers to large enterprises will need to prove their green credentials via an audited process to retain their preferred supplier status.

In the supply chain, more data gathering and analysis is being done to work out the optimal movement and storage of goods. With high transportation costs, this has always been on the radar for UK retailers, but only now are they adding in data on carbon footprints to the measures used already.

The carbon-counting discipline is becoming of greater interest to US retailers too, as the cost of fuel – although still low by UK standards – becomes a cause for concern. As such, these retailers are having to rethink their supply chain models.

Aside from the bigger questions of how many distribution centres retailers operate and how optimal their store delivery schedules are, the discussion is even getting down to the nitty-gritty of discussions on optimising vehicle gear ratios, maximum driving speed and reducing engine idling.

You can’t manage what you can’t measure, so while retailers’ systems create carbon footprints, these same systems will be essential to reducing their environmental impact too.

BT and sustainable retailing


Research issued at the beginning of the year by BT showed that there is discontinuity between how well retailers believe they are tackling the issue of sustainability and what their staff think.

Within the retail sector, its research showed 31 per cent of employees do not believe that the organisation that they work for is environmentally and socially responsible. Slightly more (39 per cent), say that their employer is doing too little in this area.

But retail managers believe they are taking the issue seriously: the same report found that 56 per cent of retailers believe they are taking steps to reduce their impact on the environment and communities; a further 28 per cent say they are doing everything they can.

At this year’s Retail Solutions, BT will highlight some of the ways retailers can operate more responsibly at its sustainable retailing stand.


Gartner: cutting green PC initiatives can cost you money


Cutting back on green PC initiatives could actually cost retailers money in the near- to mid-term, according to analyst Gartner.

It says that, for most companies, being green saves money and alleviates some of the pressure on IT budgets. Gartner has identified four areas where green PC initiatives can lead to cost savings and says that retailers should move forward with these – and even speed up the introduction of technology and processes that can deliver power savings.

“Faced with an economic downturn, many organisations tend to cut back on soft programmes – such as green efforts – as a cost-saving measure,” says Gartner research vice-president Steve Kleynhans.

“However, companies need to pursue these low-risk initiatives as they often provide quick returns that are especially attractive in a cost-cutting environment. Green PC initiatives typically do not add significantly to ongoing operational costs and the small upfront costs associated with them are usually easily recovered 12 to 18 months after the programme begins.”

Gartner’s advice is:

1. Look for eco-friendly labels on new PCsSwitching to a more eco-friendly model can reduce power consumption by 20 per cent or more and usually carries only a very small premium (typically less than£10 per desktop). If an organisation cuts back on PC procurement, switching the remaining new purchases to systems carrying these new eco-credentials will usually have no negative impact on operations, but will lower energy costs.

2. Green really can save moneyPutting machines into a low-power state when not in use is a low risk, but highly effective, change to a PC fleet because it costs little or nothing (typically less than£5 a year) to implement and reduces energy costs from more than£40 a year to approximately£10 a year. Concerns about patch installation are addressed easily by modern power-state management tools.

3. There’s gold in old machinesGood PC disposal programmes become even more critical in a business downturn. When properly disposed of, older equipment has value that can help pay for newer, more efficient systems. System recycling is the preferable solution, but even machines beyond refurbishment will have value based on parts and embedded recyclable materials.

4. Efficient users tend to be green usersThe most efficient way of fulfilling a business process can often be the greenest. Programmes that encourage the reduction of travel and commuting may require a minor uplift in technology spending, but are also likely to improve workers’ productivity and attitudes. Reducing the printing and distribution of paper will not only reduce environmental waste, but will typically speed up business processes.