Retail Brands have the opportunity to play outsized roles in leading sustainability efforts to protect the environment and boost customer engagement.

This point was emphasized during the Velocity Institute (RBI) Sustainability Summit, which featured speakers from retailers including Walmart, Wakefern Food Corp., CVS Health, Tesco, Carrefour and Giant Eagle.

Here are ten key points from Summit speakers.

1. Have a Bold Ambition: It’s hard to make a big difference if you aren’t fully committed. Walmart is fully on board and pursuing a wide range of bold initiatives on topics ranging from renewable energy to waste reduction. “In private brands, we are committed to driving towards a regenerative future,” said Cheryl Lam, Walmart’s Sustainability Packaging Leader, Private Brands. “We are embedding sustainability as part of our everyday focus.”
2. Start at the Beginning: Succeeding with sustainability requires prioritization at the start of retail projects —  not as an afterthought. A case in point is how branding, packaging and design teams contribute to sustainability efforts. “Design used to come at the end of the process,” said Tatiana Ryfer, Head of Branding & Visual Identity at Carrefour. “Today, being involved in the earlier phases allows us to have a greater impact.”
3. Lead With Retail Brands: Retail Brands have special roles to play in driving sustainability, emphasized Christopher Durham, President of RBI. “This is an opportunity for Retail Brands to lead,” he said. “There are so many areas for improvement, from product to packaging. There’s a need for retailers, manufacturers, solution partners and software partners to band together to do this better.”
4. Emphasize Implementation: The biggest hurdles for retailers come in figuring out implementation, said Robert Zuehlke, Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility, Wakefern Food Corp. “We can all understand the why of sustainability, but the how is incredibly challenging. It’s about integrating sustainability into key touchpoints and focusing on decision making around sourcing and packaging.”
5. Don’t Be Square: The goal of achieving a circular economy was cited in numerous Summit presentations. One key strategy is to provide recycling information on packages to educate consumers, said Matt Thorsen, Director, Store Brands Packaging, CVS Health, which partnered with Marks to implement the How2Recycle program across store brand items. “Without consumers knowing what to do with the packaging, the circle never becomes a circle,” he said.
6. Be an Educator: It’s essential for retailers to educate suppliers about sustainability expectations, said Paul Earnshaw, Senior Packaging Manager of Tesco. The retailer has pulled together some 114 pages of packaging information for its supplier base to teach companies how to optimize packaging for sustainability.
7. Take Credit on Pack: Brand owners need to relay sustainability attributes on packages to communicate with environmentally conscious consumers, said Maria Dubuc, President of MBD. “You’ve got to show consumers your sustainability certifications and take credit for what you’re doing,” she said.
8. Put Maine in Focus: Maine is one of least populated states in the U.S., but the Pine Tree State has an outsized impact when it comes to sustainability. In 2021 Maine became the first U.S. state to pass an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging law requiring big corporations and manufacturers to help pay for the cost of package recycling. “We just needed a better way,” said Sarah Nichols, Director of Sustainable Maine at National Resources Council of Maine.
9. Think Global and Local: Not every global sustainability issue interests every local customer base, so retailers need to pick which stories to relay. Northeast U.S. retailer Giant Eagle pursues a wide range of efforts, but it focuses communications on the topics customers are most interested in. Those are eliminating plastic, supporting local farmers and producers and protecting the land, said Cara Mercil, Director of Sustainability.
10. Celebrate Victories: Sustainability efforts aren’t just about hard work. Companies also need to commemorate achievements, said Abby Ayers, Head of Retail & Factory Partnerships, Fair Trade USA. “Share results worth celebrating,” she emphasized. “Make sure your community knows about the work you’ve done.”

The Summit’s sessions can now be viewed on-demand. The presentations provide a wide range of important perspectives about sustainability efforts in Retail Brands. Meanwhile, RBI will offer a full slate of events in 2022, ranging from Summits on key topics to its signature RBI Velocity Conference + Expo, which will be held May 16 to 18 at the Charlotte Convention Center.