As part of our Sustainability 2023 report, ESM caught up with industry leaders across a host of leading retail and consumer goods firms to discuss their ESG achievements to date, efforts made to tackle Scope 3 emissions, and what the current cost-of-living crisis means for sustainability – both for themselves and their consumer base.
Owen Keogh, Head of Sustainability, Musgrave Group
Our recent research indicates that consumers have reached a tipping point when it comes to sustainability – that they’re thinking about it more than ever. Our insights show that consumers are recognising and responding to the steps that are being taken by businesses through their sustainability strategies – particularly where those steps are helping consumers impact their own lives with actions they can take daily.
While the current financial situation is important to us and our customers, we also recognise that we are living in a time of unprecedented change and a climate crisis. We have developed our sustainability strategy, having consulted with experts, employees, retailers, consumers, suppliers and government on the most impactful changes the business needed to make.
We then aligned as a business on the priority areas that would reduce our environmental impact and leave a positive and lasting legacy for future generations.
Embedding The Strategy
Embedding our sustainability strategy across our business is vital to our success, and we have reflected that in how we have shaped our strategy and the initiatives we have developed over time. As a business, we work with independent retailers across the island of Ireland and further afield, and we must work with them collaboratively to drive collective change.
An example of this is the sustainability fund we launched earlier this year, in June. Aiming to help our retailers with investing in decarbonisation, we introduced a €25 million sustainability fund – a transformative next step on our collective journey to reach net-zero carbon by 2040.
Net-Zero Ambition
At Musgrave, we recognise the important role we play in the climate crisis, in our own business, but also with our suppliers and our customers. We have rigorously looked at every part of our business with a focus on how we can reduce our carbon footprint. We aim to reach net-zero carbon by 2040. Transport, offices, warehouses, operations and sourcing are all part of the solution. Our retail partners are doing the same.
We have also been looking at ways to work with our suppliers, at ways of reducing our Scope 3 emissions. Critical to this is collaboration across the industry, which will be vital, going forward.
This is one area where collaboration is required between businesses, government, and the industry at large – to create the change that’s required at the pace that’s required.
This article first appeared in ESM’s November/December 2022 edition.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
