The commitments include reducing the direct environmental impact of their businesses, managing climate change risks and helping customers and staff to reduce their environmental impact.
For waste, this means diverting at least 50% of waste from landfill by 2012, minimising waste from operating and managing unavoidable waste in a sustainable manner.
Signatories will also reduce their own brand packaging by 2012 on a like-for-like basis, compared with 2005, and encourage suppliers to make similar reductions, and provide clear labelling on whether packaging is recyclable.
Welcoming the move, Environment minister Hillary Benn said: “I welcome the British Retail Consortium's commitment to take action to help consumers make informed decisions about the environmental impact of products they buy.”
BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: “By agreeing industry-wide goals for the next five years, retail is ratchetting up its environmental commitments.”
“We recognise we can make a real difference through our own operations and by supporting customers and staff in ways that suit their budgets and lifestyles. Retailers do not lecture, legislate, preach or prosecute. We serve and lead by providing positive choices and, wherever we cane, incentives to do the right thing.”
Retailers who have signed up for the agreement include Argos, Asda, Boots, Early Learning Centre, Homebase, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Mothercare, Next, Sainsbury's, Somerfield, Tesco, The Body Shop, the Co-operative, Waitrose and Wickes.
Although some businesses have already committed to more demanding green targets, the BRC said this was an important first step for others and that the agreement would give a unified signal to politicians, businesses and customers.
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