Slump not stopping green initiatives

During harsh economic times, when consumers are increasingly wary about the price of goods and the availability of reduced price-points seems to be the only real draw for consumers, retailers often go back to basics.

By this I mean that retailers typically re-evaluate their businesses - by taking stock of their current situation and by making sure that they are doing the simple things well, they are prepared for when the sector begins to recover.

Furthermore, during these tougher periods, retailers often adopt a hibernation mentality where new ventures or major expenditures are often put on hold; only once customers start buying again will these new ideas or concepts be brought back to life and then aggressively pursued.

It has come as somewhat of a surprise therefore that the combined issues of green retailing and sustainability have continued virtually unabated for the past 12 months, with no noticeable ill effect on the industry as a result of the economic slowdown.

In fact over the past few weeks there appears to have been even more attention on this subject than there was prior to any noticeable downturn in consumer spending.

My feeling therefore is that this continued development in green retailing or greentailing as its sometimes referred to, has evolved from being the questionable pipedreams of a few eager developers who were keen to be seen to be doing the right thing, to a feeling of genuine industry-wide intent to actually change the way we build and operate the spaces in which we work.

A recent conversation with one of the bigger retail developers and operators here in the Middle East revealed that every single one of their new developments was being undertaken with a view to achieving the highest possible LEED certification.

In fact they were quick to stress that they were doing everything they could to reach the highest possible ranking and that in real terms they were only being hindered by lack of the supporting industry infrastructure (construction and waste management) and not by their own internal processes or procedures. However this trend is not just a regional pursuit.

Tesco the largest food-retailer in the UK and one of the top five global retailers has just announced that it is supporting the roll-out of electric cars by providing facilities in its car parks for battery-powered vehicles. The new initiative will start in London in two stores. If it proves to be a success with customers, the plans are such that it can be undertaken on a nationwide basis.

- The writer is Head of Retail Services, GRMC Advisory Services.