Sustainability in Retail: Insights from Impact Ireland 2024

We joined brands, retailers and industry gurus from the POPAI community at last week’s Impact Ireland: Sustainability in Retail event held in Dublin.

Alongside global brands like Diageo, HP, and Heineken, as well as major retailers such as Boots, we delved into sustainability trends shaping the retail landscape over the next 12 months. We looked at opportunities for retail brands to commercialise sustainable choices effectively, highlighted examples of success, and addressed key barriers to progress.

Presentations and focus points ranged from sustainable materials and design innovations in point-of-sale displays to communication and understanding the shopper. We also examined the crucial role of POS in supporting effective product recycling efforts, demonstrating how retail environments can play a pivotal part in closing the sustainability loop.

Consumers and the Complete Shopper Journey

One of the most actionable insights revolved around the complete shopper journey. Sustainability begins well before customers enter a store. It starts with internal or agency-led creative processes that integrate sustainability into the broader brand experience. While the in-store environment offers an immersive opportunity to engage consumers, this must align seamlessly with the post-purchase phase across other marketing channels. Achieving this requires working with partners who have expertise across the full journey to ensure consistency and continuity.

The concept of “phygital” – blending physical and digital experiences – was a prominent theme, showcasing how sustainability can enhance retail strategies. Crucially, however, sustainability should complement, not dominate. It must act as a value-add rather than the central focus, ensuring that core customer needs are met first before introducing the “green benefits.”

Addressing the Value-Action Gap

A significant challenge for retailers lies in the value-action gap. While numerous reports, such as those by Deloitte UK, indicate that a majority of consumers claim sustainability influences their purchasing decisions – with some studies citing figures as high as 70% – real-world behaviours often fail to align. For instance, despite many shoppers stating they would pay more for sustainable products, only a small percentage follow through.

This intention-action gap underscores the need for retailers to make sustainable choices more accessible and intuitive. The concept of the “invisible hand” of sustainability was highlighted as critical: embedding eco-friendly practices so seamlessly into the consumer journey that making sustainable choices becomes effortless.

Interestingly, consumer engagement with sustainability trends is strongest among two key demographics: 18-24-year-olds and those over 55. Understanding and targeting these groups could be the best place for retailers and brands to focus on.

Designing for Sustainability

A pivotal takeaway was the importance of sustainable design. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 80% of a product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage. This statistic underscores the power of designing POS and retail displays with circular principles in mind to reduce waste and enhance resource efficiency.

The industry now has access to a greater variety of alternative materials that outperform traditional options in both sustainability and cost. Coupled with advanced design capabilities, robust data insights, and better end-of-life solutions, there are few excuses left for not embracing sustainable design. Retailers and brands must adopt these principles as standard practice.

Transparent and Honest Messaging

With stricter regulations around “green claims” coming into force, the days of vague or unsubstantiated sustainability statements are over. Transparent, authentic messaging is more critical than ever for maintaining consumer trust and credibility.

Diageo’s presentation highlighted how understated, fact-based communication, showing how a commitment to honesty can succeed in connecting with customers. Retailers risk significant reputational (and financial) damage if their sustainability claims are perceived as insincere. Instead, brands must focus on substantiating their messages with measurable impact metrics, helping consumers understand the positive outcomes of their choices.

Strategy Strategy Strategy

Sustainability is a multifaceted challenge that requires a well-defined strategy. Retailers face growing demands from consumers, tighter legislation, increased data reporting requirements, and heightened expectations around supply chain transparency. Developing a clear, forward-thinking strategy is therefore essential.

Collaborating with experienced partners is critical to achieving this. Partners who can provide insights, adapt to market changes, and share best practices can accelerate progress in areas such as design improvements, data sharing, and communication. By aligning these efforts into a cohesive strategy, brands can meet consumer expectations and maintain traction on sustainability initiatives.

Top 3 Takeaways from Impact Ireland 2024

1. Adopt a Circular Mindset: Sustainable retail displays and POS must consider end-of-life solutions right from the design stage.
2. Collaborate Across the Value Chain: Transparency and collaboration among brands, retailers, and suppliers are essential to scaling sustainable practices.
3. Bridge the Value-Action Gap: Make sustainable choices intuitive for consumers and ensure consistency across all customer touchpoints, from in-store displays to digital interactions.

If you’d like to explore these insights further or learn how we can support your business with sustainable retail solutions, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out at [email protected].

After successful launches in the US and LATAM, the much-loved streaming service that has delivered countless iconic series and films will now be available to a European audience for the first time, as of 21^st May. We’re thrilled to have partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery on this exciting launch by providing a full end-to-end service for Branded Merchandise products.

From sourcing, compiling and fulfilment, our team delivered large quantities of 39 product types, to 19 different countries to support the launch events.

Darina Cisneros, Marketing Manager at WBD, says: “Working with APS Group has been great – the team are creative and innovative and are very responsive to any queries. They were able to provide exactly what we needed, and the products delighted our audience across all launch activities. Thank you to the team and all involved in making this launch run smoothly.”

Anne-Marie O’Hara, Category Director for Branded Merchandise at APS Group added, “We’re very proud to have supported the European launch for HBO Max and helping them to engage with their new audience! Our partnership demonstrates the ability and expertise of our team to deliver amazing branded merchandise for large-scale events, and we’re very excited to see the partnership with HBO Max continue to grow.”

If you would like to speak to our team about Branded Merchandise, or how we can support your future campaigns, then please get in touch via [email protected].

APS Group has helped Premier’s Carbon Capture® programme raise over £1.83 million to date for the Woodland Trust, funding more than 480,000 trees with the potential to capture approximately 110,580 tonnes of CO2e over their lifetime. 100% of the funds raised through the programme are passed directly to the Trust to fund woodland conservation and the planting of trees, which will absorb carbon from the atmosphere during their lifetime. The new woodland created provides habitats for wildlife and green spaces for all to enjoy. We’re delighted to be part of this programme, and sharing our values of a responsible approach to the environment.

The Woodland Trust work tirelessly to protect, restore, create and care for our woodlands to ensure that they can be enjoyed for generations to come. Find out more on the Trust’s work and strategy here.

Supporting the Woodland Trust’s to establish 60,000 hectares of native woodland across the UK by 2030

The Trust’s woodland carbon scheme helps organisations reduce their carbon footprint by locking up unavoidable carbon emissions while helping nature thrive. Trees don’t just mitigate carbon, removing it from the atmosphere, they also sequester it – absorbing carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and then locking it up for centuries. In 2022 the Trust turned 50, over that time 500,000 people from the UK and beyond have been inspired to be a member or supporter of the Woodland Trust. The Woodland Trust care for more than 1,000 free public woods, growing more than 50 million trees.

Woodland covers just 13.2% of the UK, with only 7% of all Britain’s native woodland in good ecological condition. Climate change has meant that spring happens on average 8.5 days earlier which is having catastrophic effects on a multitude of different species. For example, blue tit chicks are hatching later than the caterpillars they feed on. Although woodland cover is gradually increasing, woodland wildlife populations are dramatically decreasing so it’s vital we’re part of this programme to ensure our woodlands can be enjoyed for years to come.

See more on our sustainability commitment.

This week, we cemented our commitment to combat climate change in collaboration with the Woodland Trust by helping to plant 3,500 native saplings on the picturesque former Frodsham Golf Course in Cheshire. We joined 20 other businesses and around 100 of their enthusiastic employees and customers for a day of planting saplings which will one day grow into a thriving native forest.

Native trees such as Maple, Oak and Silver Birch, hold the key to addressing the immediate challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Being a part of Premier’s tree planting initiative, Carbon Capture®, demonstrates a joint dedication to providing sustainable solutions for excess CO₂ emissions within our industry.

The Frodsham site is set to be transformed into native broadleaf woodland, contributing to the growth of The Mersey Forest and the larger Northern Forest, which spans from Liverpool to the Yorkshire coast. With tree cover in Merseyside and Cheshire at 6 to 7%, some way below the national average of 13%, this initiative serves as a beacon for environmental conservation and mitigating climate change.

The objectives for the Frodsham site are to support nature recovery, climate change mitigation, and increase community involvement. The new woodland will also provide habitats for wildlife, offer public recreation spaces, and contribute to long-term carbon storage.

“APS Group have engaged with the Woodland Trust for many Years and actively takes part in the Tree Planting days organised through one of our key Suppliers ‘Premier Paper Group.’ The Carbon Capture programme focuses on the UK, protecting ancient, veteran and valuable woods, plus creating new quality woodland and growing UK native trees to benefit nature, the climate and future generations. It is a perfect initiative which we at APS are glad to support and gives companies and their clients the opportunity to mitigate carbon and demonstrate their sustainable development goals.”

Brian Henners, Global In-Direct Supply Chain Director at APS Group

We’re proud to contribute to the UK’s ‘net zero by 2050’ target by being a part of Premier’s Carbon Capture® programme. This initiative has created over 3 million square meters of new native woodland in the UK, which equates to 107,571 tonnes of CO₂e to be mitigated. We can’t wait to join the initiative again next year!

Read more out about our sustainability commitments here.