Sustainability and climate change

Sustainability issues are higher on the consumer agenda than ever before. Pressure on commodity and energy prices and scarcity of raw materials together with regulator and competitor actions are combining to ensure retail and consumer goods companies cannot ignore the environmental and social dimension of how they operate. But competition to be ‘green’ has brought increasing media and opinion former scrutiny and consumers are confused, lacking trust and information.

Consumer demand for sustainable alternatives exists but PwC research shows that price and availability are large barriers to sustainable products becoming mainstream. The downside of failing to manage costs and reputational risks associated with sustainability is growing increasingly material in this sector.

Doing nothing is not an option. But in a tough economic climate it is vital to have a robust business case for action. Short term, quick fixes can damage reputation and the bottom line. What may have started as an evolution is showing all the signs of becoming a genuine revolution.

At PwC we're helping our clients to respond to these challenges by combining over 15 years of sustainability expertise with our core retail and consumer sector specialists who advise 75 of the country’s top 100 retailers. This gives us the ability to deliver unique insight about the sustainability impacts across our clients’ business models.

Key issues for the sector

So what are the key sustainability issues for businesses in this sector?

• What are your consumers buying now, and what will they want from you in future?
• How will you manage the consequences of climate change for agricultural suppliers?
• As resources become scarcer how will you secure a reliable supply?
• How well will you cope with an increasing regulatory burden?
• Is there competitive advantage for you in the green or ethical consumer market?
• Will your ‘green’ product claims stack up to external scrutiny?
• How well are you measuring your performance and is your reporting best in class?
• What are the costs of inaction in a world of rising energy and raw material prices?
• How do I develop more sustainable packaging?
• How do you manage the ethical risks of an increasingly globalised supply chain?

How we can help

Key services for our Retail and Consumer clients include:

• Sustainability strategy – The strategic plans we develop are resilient, decisive and compatible with your commercial and operational goals.
• Climate change – Our climate change and carbon markets specialists can help you create value from new markets and services, maintain and manage risks and measure and reduce your carbon emissions.
• Brands and sustainability – We can develop ‘product stories’ for your key brands, which will help you to identify and prioritise the key environmental and social issues affecting your business and assess their commercial implications. We are applying life cycle thinking and environmental impact quantification. We are also able to provide assurance, giving you confidence when developing your sustainable consumer propositions or ‘green claims’.
• Sustainable raw materials – We combine sustainability and strategic sourcing expertise to develop raw material sourcing strategies that are forward looking, and can be adapted to a number of different future scenarios up to 2025. These take account of issues such as climate change, water scarcity, population growth and the increased demands on finite natural resources.
• Sustainable supply chains – We can work with you to develop a supply chain that’s not only lean but ethical and green. This will enable you to make the right business decisions in the context of rising fuel, energy and carbon costs and increased scrutiny on the ethical standards of your suppliers..
• Sustainable packaging – We understand that this issue is high on the agenda of our clients consumers. We can help you to incorporate a sustainability dimension in the design of new packaging and products and assess their environmental profile using Life Cycle Assessment methodology.

To find out more read our case studies or access our publications library.