Sustainable retail inspiration from award-winning businesses

Green Initiative of the Year: Specsavers

Specsavers’ Planet, People and Communities initiative set out to reduce carbon emissions and plastic waste from the glasses manufacturing processes, without affecting stock availability. 

By making changes to the way it made and stocked lenses, Specsavers delivered significant cost savings, alongside reductions in hard-to-recycle plastic waste of 107 tonnes and CO₂ emissions of 230 tonnes.

The impact of the project spanned Specsavers’ own manufacturing operations, as well as its supplier operations in Europe and the Asia Pacific.

The project resulted in a cost saving of £42,000 per month, with savings coming from energy use reduction and decreases in the volume of the plastic raw materials. Its suppliers saw a decrease in manufacturing times and energy usage per lens, reduced packaging volumes, improved water efficiency, increased container fill/efficiency and better use of machines.

Responsible Retailer: Decathlon

The sports and outdoors retailer won this award for its commitment to a circular business model.

The two main pillars are the ‘No Tent Left Behind’ scheme, which enables festivalgoers to return their Decathlon tent instead of abandoning it in the fields, and the ‘Second Life’ programme. This allows customers to both donate sports equipment and buy refurbished products at a lower price.

In 2025, the number of tents repurchased increased by over 150%, preventing a greater volume of tents from being abandoned or sent to landfill. Sales of secondhand tents grew by 95% overall, reaching a record high of 3.8% of all retail tent sales during the period.

The judges said Decathlon is “really innovative. It feels very authentic and it’s all about their specific market and they have stepped up and been responsible.”

They added that the business is solving “contemporary problems around waste and came up with an innovative way to tackle these issues”.