British retailers hit landfill reduction targets

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has published a report detailing achievements among retailers who have hit their environmental targets over the past four years.

One of the biggest success stories is the reduction in landfill waste. UK retailers cut the amount of waste they sent to landfill by 130,000 tonnes in 2008 compared with 2005.

This represents a fall of approximately one third and has been achieved through a raft of initiatives including recycling and converting organic waste to biogas and fertiliser through anaerobic digestion.

Energy use in buildings has also fallen by 15 per cent between 2005/06 and 2008/09 on a like-for-like basis. This decrease means that the industry has hit its target five years ahead of schedule.

Consequently, the BRC has set new, more challenging goals for retailers in the UK.

Some of the biggest names on the high street, including Argos, Marks and Spencer and the Body Shop, have signed up to the Better Retailing Climate Commitments.

These businesses are now committing to more ambitious environmental targets ahead of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference next month, BRC revealed.