Montreal, 19 December 2022 – Five new retail and business associations announced today during the closing day of the fifteenth United Nations Biodiversity Conference COP15 pledges to become Accelerators for the Race to Zero. ABComm (Brazil), ACCI (Greece) amfori (Global) CBL (Netherlands), and SOCR ČR (Czech Republic) are joining the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the Australia Retailers Alliance (ARA), EuroCommerce plus seven additional national associations, bringing the total to 15 associations from around the world mobilized to drive climate action across the retail sector.
The Race to Zero 2030 Breakthroughs: Retail Campaign, backed by the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, founded by Best Buy, H&M Group, Ingka Group (IKEA), Kingfisher plc and Walmart and hosted by WBCSD, aims to engage national and regional retail associations to help support their members to build capacity to decarbonize through the Race to Zero Retail Centre of Excellence in order to catalyze a net zero breakthrough within the retail industry by 2030.
“We are proud that ABComm is the first retail association from Brazil to join the Race to Zero and delighted to have this announcement coincide with the United Nations Biodiversity Conference COP15. The retail sector needs do more to protect biodiversity in Brazil and all over the world. By joining this campaign, we will help our members on their path to reduce their emissions by 50% by 2030. This will have a far-reaching positive impact for Brazil and our planet.” - Mauricio Salvador, President, ABComm.
Diane Holdorf, Executive Vice President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development said: “We can't solve the biodiversity crisis without addressing climate, and with 30-40% of global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the retail sector, we need to accelerate the industry transformation. By mobilizing retail associations around the world, the Race to Zero Breakthroughs 2030: Retail campaign has catalyzed collaborative action for a more nature-positive, net zero future.”
“It is exciting to see the number of retail associations pledging to become an Accelerator for the Race to Zero. With the addition of five new members from across the world, the campaign´s impact on driving global climate action across the retail sector is exponential. This promising momentum happening within the retail sector shows we have no time to waste. I encourage all retailers and retail associations globally to step up climate action and join the Race to Zero”. - Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN High Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP27 and Egypt.
“Retailers are at the core of our economy, ultimately connecting thousands of value chains across millions of suppliers to billions of customers – they are at the nexus of product and process innovation as well as customer purchasing power. Accenture is pleased to have partnered with the Race to Zero Retail Campaign to develop the Race to Zero Retail Centre of Excellence, providing free access to resources, tools and a community of practice to help retail associations and retailers build their capacity to decarbonize and accelerate the sector transformation.” - Alexander Holst, Managing Director and European Leadership Team at Accenture Sustainability Strategy & Services
For more information on the Race to Zero Breakthroughs 2030: Retail Campaign contact DJ Forza, Campaign Manager at Forza@wbcsd.org
Please note that a summary article with commentary on COP15 will soon be released on the WBCSD News & Insights webpage.
