Co-op boss Steve Murrells to head up retail climate steering group

Murrells will head up the steering group alongside other retail c-suite executives from the likes of Sainsbury’s, Iceland, IKEA, Mountain Warehouse, Dunelm and Feelunique.

The steering group has been set up by the BRC to help the UK retail industry and its supply chain reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040. At the time of publication, the group has had pledges from 70 different UK retailers. 

Member retailers have set out plans to decarbonise stores by 2030 and deliveries by 2035.

To coincide with the announcement, the BRC said that carbon emissions have fallen by 49% since 2005 from retailers, far exceeding the target of a 25% absolute reduction.

However, the BRC said there was still more work to be done, with its latest data highlighting that while carbon emissions from transport fell 43% in the period, just off the 45% target, absolute emissions fell by just 15%.

Murrells said: “Global society is facing a monumental climate crisis, entirely of its own making. We must all recognise that we are in part responsible and that we all have to do more to foster change and do it more quickly.

“The global response to the pandemic has shown us what we can achieve when the need is great and urgent enough. The required levels of co-operation needed to tackle climate change are unprecedented and the BRC Roadmap will help unify UK retailers around a common purpose.

“Building on our own climate commitments to get to net zero by 2040 at the latest, I’m honoured to be leading the Climate Action Roadmap steering group to help bring about bold and collective action across our industry and play a part in making things fairer for our planet.

“It’s also a matter of pride that it’s the UK retail sector that is going first and leading the world with this type of collaboration.”

BRC head of sustainability Peter Andrews said: “It’s a fantastic achievement to have halved greenhouse gases from our stores and lorries in little over a decade. However, we recognise we can do much more by helping drive decarbonisation across our supply chains and supporting our customers, the British public, to live lower carbon lifestyles through the products they buy. Our Climate Action Roadmap sets out our path to net zero operations and supply chains by 2040.”