Greening Shops and Saving Costs

The new UNEP Resource Kit Greening Shops and Saving Costs explains in a simple step-by-step approach how to successfully implement sustainability strategies in shops and therefore lead to cost-savings and new business opportunities.

The retail sector can play a key role in facilitating a shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns, by adopting environmental management schemes for its internal operations, greening its supply chain and informing customers about sustainable products and services.

The Kit is made up of a printed Guidance Manual and a CD-ROM. The Guidance Manual is divided into four chapters, which focus on:

- The impact and role of the retail sector on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns.

- The methodology to implement cleaner production schemes in shops. - Key tips to green the supply chain and ensure a closer co-operation between retail companies and their suppliers.

- Some guidelines to develop awareness campaigns on sustainability issues to customers.

The CD-ROM contains:

- Numerous retail case studies from all continents.

- Training material on the implementation of SCP in shops.

- Downloadable pdfs on technical issues.

- The Guidance Manual in electronic version.

- Web links for further reading.

The Manual and CD-ROM were introduced during a Web seminar organized by UNEP in co-operation with the Asian Productivity Organization. The publication will now be widely distributed to retail associations and retail companies around the world. This Kit has been produced by UNEP, with the support of the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

A Spanish version of the CD-ROM will also be produced in the forthcoming months. For further information or to receive a copy of Greening Shops and Saving Costs, please contact Solange Montillaud-Joyel at: [email protected].