february 2014
|
magis
45
|
| responsible business
|
enforce these practices now, especially in
developing countries like India, as organ-
ised retailing is still in its nascent stage.
Creating systems at this stage would lead
to the development of an environment
friendly retail system from the very begin-
ning, save a lot of time, finances and energy
and ultimately contribute towards a greener
planet. Retailing sector is one of the largest
private sectors of the world — with almost
47 per cent of
Fortune
500 companies in
retailing.
Green Retailing
– or Greentailing –
as aptly stated by Stern (2008), is con-
scientious retailing built on environmen-
tally sustainable, socially responsible and
economically profitable business practices.
Such practices explicitly consider the im-
pact of a retailer’s actions on environment
and community, customer perception and
behaviour, and employees, suppliers and,
ultimately, shareholders returns.
The pressure on the retailing industry
to adopt green practices has increased
significantly in recent times. Internally,
the employees expect fair labour practices,
healthy working environment and competi-
tive wages and benefits. External drivers
include the communities that expect organ-
isations to behave as responsible citizens,
consider local impact of their practices and
engage in community development. Com-
petitors act as another driver for change,
viewing to position themselves as leaders
to initiate sustainability and gain brand
strength and reputation. Retailers, who
adopt green practices, can gain a competi-
tive advantage in the market place not only
in the eyes of the customer, but also among
legislatures and regulators. Media, another
stakeholder, also put pressure on businesses
to adopt green practices by highlighting
current sustainability issues.
However, it has been noticed that though
customers support eco-friendly products
in principle, they are not willing to pay a
higher price for them or, given options,
do not always choose the green product
owing to various reasons other than price.
Often, they may feel that the eco-friendly
products do not perform so well as the
other products, or may find that, in using
green products, they have to give up a bit
of convenience and packaging facility.
There is a need to raise awareness and edu-
cate the customers on the issue. Enabling
customers to make informed choices by
engaging them through communication,
giving information on whether the product
is organic, using recyclable packaging,
whether producers use fair practices, would
help customers opt for the right products.
This would also require the tough task of
changing customer attitudes about con-
sumption, usage and disposal of products in
their daily lives.
Helping consumers adopt green technol-
ogy in their lives, even if it is outside the
direct purview of retailing, reinforces the
brand image in the eyes of the community.
Encouraging customers to move away
from plastic bags, selling loose wherever
possible, thereby, reducing the amount of
waste packaging taken home by customers
are some initiatives that can be and are be-
ing implemented all over the world.
Speaking of Indian context it is the
organised players who will have to lead
the way for implementing green retail.
However, support from government and
civil society/consumer will also be critical
in this regard. All three will have to work in
unison to get us towards a greener planet.
Changes in the environment are im-
pacting all. It is our duty as responsible
businesses and consumers to take steps
and mitigate the situation. Retailers are the
link between consumers and manufactur-
ers. They can influence the consumption
patterns of the consumers as well as the
production processes of the suppliers and,
hence, are best suited to initiate sustainable
practices.
The future of retail can be shaped by
changing - Collaboration with the suppli-
ers, - Store operations moving towards
green practices, and - Relationship with
the customer. Green practices can be
adopted at every point in the retail value
chain. They could be an opportunity area
and green practices could be incorporated
at each level leading to management of
carbon emissions, efficient use of resources
and reduction in poverty – the three main
concerns today. There is an urgent need to
adopt these practices in emerging econo-
mies like India as the retail is in its nascent
stage and expected to grow exponentially.
Creating policies now would save a lot of
time, finances and energy and, ultimately,
contribute towards a greener planet.
Please write to us at
Retailers can have an
impact on both
consumers & suppliers
by adopting green
business practices
