EuroCommerce, the body that represents the retail sector in Europe, has organised a major conference to discuss how retail and wholesale businesses can work together with government and others in the supply chain to achieve a 'circular economy'.
The main message from the event was the need for cooperation in giving value to resources that otherwise would have been discarded, and making this a part of normal business models.
This, the representative group said, is not just about waste management, but also about designing products and systems to prevent waste from the outset.
Active Participation
“If there are three words we should all think of in terms of the circular economy, they are cooperation, consistency, and commitment”, EuroCommerce President Régis Degelcke told the first conference on circular economy dedicated to retail and wholesale.
“Retailers and wholesalers are pushing and will push ahead with creating sustainable solutions, but these can only be effective with the active and committed participation of all, working together to achieve the right results across all sectors.”
Delivering a keynote address on the state of play in circular economy, Janez Potočnik, former EU Commissioner for the Environment, and current co-chair of the UN International Resource Panel, said, “With growing population and increased pressure on resources, circular economy is not an environmental policy, it’s a logical solution to the challenges faced in the 21st century: we need to change the way we produce, we consume and we live.”
Circular Economy Barriers
The conference was also an occasion to showcase many initiatives by retailers and wholesalers to contribute to a more circular economy.
Debate subjects included how to overcome barriers to scale up solutions to; curbing food waste, introducing new business models in chemicals, improving deliveries in the age of e-commerce, and reducing the use of plastics.
“The circular economy is an essential part of our efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and to promote a better life for all,” Daniel Calleja Crespo, director-general of the European Commission added.
“Striking a fair balance between deploying innovation and maintaining the safety of our products and consumers is an important part of the equation, and we recognise the efforts made by the retail and wholesale sector in this matter.”
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O'Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
