by Rebecca Walker — July 29, 2009—A survey of retailers’ green behaviors finds that companies showing better-than-average growth in annual sales are addressing sustainability concerns across all corners of their business, rather than just a branding or cost-saving exercise.
The survey, conducted by Retail Systems Research in partnership with the Retail Industry Leaders Association, dug into the motivations for why retailers are adopting green practices, and how the companies make decisions on where to place their sustainability efforts.
Across the board, the survey found that environmental consciousness is on the rise among retailers. A similar survey conducted a year ago found that 44 percent of retailers considered sustainability a strategic issue, and then only as pertaining to specific departments.
Now, 48 percent of retailers see sustainability as strategic to the entire enterprise, and an additional 22 percent said it was of tactical importance to specific departments within the company.
More specifically, the RSR/RILA survey explores the differences in sustainability practices between “winners” and “laggards”—with winners defined as companies whose year-over-year sales grew by more than the industry average of 3 percent. While the report doesn’t tie sustainability to sales success, the researchers did find that winners associate environmentally sound practices with their brand image to consumers and the industry, and associate these practices with their ethical responsibility to the community.
The full report is available to download for free.
