Retail Forum Meeting

12.11.2010

ICSC, European Parliament

In Brussels on 9 November, the EU Retail Forum on Sustainability held its seventh meeting. The meeting brought together retailers, policy makers, stakeholder groups and representatives of the retail supply chain. ICSC attended on behalf of the retail property industry. Participants of the forum discussed efforts to improve the sustainability of retail in Europe.

The meeting focused on two key issues: the latest draft of the issue paper on the carbon footprint of retail stores and environmental labelling of products.

The issue paper looks at how to measure the carbon footprint of retail stores and what steps will reduce the environmental impact of stores in the future. The paper focuses on voluntary initiatives that all actors can take in the retail chain.

ICSC has submitted comments on this draft and has been following up to ensure that these are taken on board. In particular, ICSC wants building owners and tenants to cooperate on addressing environmental issues, on data and information sharing and on recognising environmental concerns in discussions on leasing.

The meeting also opened a discussion on the topic of environmental labelling of products and the information needs of consumers. Based on the views expressed during the meeting, the Retail Forum will draft an issue paper and circulate it to the group for comments.