Today EuroCommerce and ERRT celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Retail Forum for Sustainability and the Retail Environmental Action Programme (REAP) in a joint event organized together with the European Commission. We value the close and constructive partnership we have enjoyed with the European Commission and other signatories in the Retail Environmental Action Programme. We are now looking forward to the next chapter.
In 2009, the European Commission launched their Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan. It recognised the important contribution retailers make to sustainability and to influencing sustainable consumption. This generated the Retailers’ Environmental Action Plan, a voluntary initiative co-chaired by retailers and the European Commission, aimed at reducing environmental impacts in the retail sector and its supply chain, promoting more sustainable products, and providing better information to consumers.
Over those years, sustainability has become mainstream. We are now glad to be working towards the next phase of our cooperation within the Commission’s efforts around the European Green Deal, which is being presented today.
Kestutis Sadauskas, Director Circular Economy and Green Growth, European Commission, said:
“The retail sector can play an important role in promoting the circular economy, raising consumer engagement and greening the supply chain. We look forward to scaling up and accelerating the transition to a circular economy with retailers through the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, to deliver on our joint commitments to fight climate change and biodiversity loss and promote resource efficiency.”
EuroCommerce Director-General, Christian Verschueren, added:
“Our members have been very active over the last 10 years, with voluntary action and in applying evolving rules to help build a sustainable, circular economy. They have done so by working on their own operations, and by persuading their suppliers and customers to act. They are committed to stepping this up in the future, but this needs all parts of the supply chain, and public authorities to play a constructive role.”
ERRT Director-General, Susanne Czech, continued:
“Europe is leading the world towards a circular economy shift and our members, large contributors to the European Union economy, are keen to play a leading role in shaping it in Europe. The Retail Forum today has showed us once again how important it is to gather all actors across the value chain around the table when discussing circular economy. Circular Economy is a strategic cornerstone and a collective calling, an opportunity for stakeholders to work together and make a real difference.”
~ENDS~