Our new report ‘Retail Leadership’, released today, shows how supermarkets and other major retailers are pressing ahead with green business practices despite the threat of recession.

Retailers have a vital role to play in building a sustainable, low-carbon economy. They can drive far-reaching change up and down their supply chains, supporting local economic development and helping suppliers operate in ways which have less impact on the environment and do more to benefit communities. They can also help hundreds of millions of customers to make straightforward, affordable and more sustainable choices.

Eco-efficiencies – making savings by reducing energy use, packaging and waste – directly support the cost-cutting which retailers and consumers look for in a downturn. By sharing lorries to make more efficient deliveries Tesco and Unilever have saved more than half a million “empty” miles.

Consumers’ growing demands for greener, healthier, more ethical products have made them a critical part of brand positioning and a driver for new product and service innovations. Sainsbury’s has seen a 60% rise in sales of higher-welfare chicken since 2007 and is adding lines to meet growing demand. In the Kingfisher Group, which sponsored the report, Castorama has rolled out more than 2,000 “eco-products”.

And recession or not, in the long term successful retailers will be those who have robust strategies in place to deal with the rising cost of oil and commodities, who support suppliers in drought-prone and water-scarce areas, and who work to make sustainable products more available and affordable to their customers. We hope this report will help all retail businesses be part of that change.