What Can Retailers Do?

From the retailer's perspective, possible environmental initiatives can be divided into three categories.

Upstream Activities in the Product Chain
Upstream activities can reduce the indirect environmental impacts of retailers by selecting green products and 'greening' the product chain before the product reaches the store; or in other words addressing what retailers choose to offer the consumer and how it is produced.

In-Shop Activities
In-shop activities can reduce direct environmental impacts from the retailer’s own operations, by focusing on in-house environmental management of their facilities, for example, energy and water consumption and waste generation, as well as environmental impacts from transportation and logistics.

Downstream Activities in the Product Chain
Downstream activities can reduce the indirect impact of retailing associated with the purchasing, use and disposal of products by consumers. The overall aim of such activities is to make it easy and attractive for consumers to make sustainable choices.