Four top tips on sustainable retailing

Consumer choices are shifting. Electric cars have gone from niche to mainstream. However, consumers are not just considering the green credentials of cars, but also the retailers selling them. What’s more, sustainability also relates to ESG – the commercial benefits of running your business more efficiently.

In partnership with eBay Motors Group, Auto Retail network has published the Sustainable Retailing Report 2022. To explore it further, Arnold Clark R&D Executive Audrey Little and Lookers Business Development Director Andrew Hall joined the latest Auto Retail Live to discuss sustainable retailing.

It’s the right thing to do

“After COP26, there’s a general buzz about sustainable retailing, but little real understanding of it,” said Audrey – who revealed she actually studied at Cambridge University to better appreciate the language of sustainability. “Our belief is that it’s the right thing to do. It’s not just a box-tick.” Andrew concurred, calling it “the most important conversation going forward. If you don’t take hold of it, you’re not going to be fit for the future. It’s doing the right thing for staff, society – making sure we are part of the revolution and doing our bit to help people reduce their carbon footprint.”

Education is vital

“We’re looking to educate our staff and senior management as well as our customers,” said Audrey. “There’s a lot to learn – on power and power sources, as well as the cars themselves. At first, a lot of BEV visitors were highly educated, but now, people are coming through the door who know nothing. It’s a very slow process and we need to break it down into key elements. We’re telling staff to take their time – and underline it may not be done in one visit. Our four pillars are learn, drive, charge, change.”

It will save you money

ESG is fundamental to a company like ours,” said Andrew. “We intend to be carbon neutral as an estate by 2030 – and an immediate benefit is what we save on electricity. We had a big switch-off campaign over Christmas and saved over £30k and 32 tonnes of carbon. This told us we need to look at things even harder – you can do the right thing and still benefit the bottom line. Rising energy costs will only accelerate our investment in decarbonising our estate. Retail sites with big rooftops lend themselves to going solar; add in second life battery storage and that can quickly pay back the investment.”

Infrastructure needs common-sense

Audrey said infrastructure is a challenge. “We’ve just taken on a specialist to look at our entire 580-building estate. The challenge is the massive cost in getting power upgrades. To expect rapid DC chargers across the estate – well, there needs to be more consultation about it.” Andrew agreed: “Three are a lot of manufacturers who are making extraordinary demands. We recently toured retailers in Norway; the sweet spot is plenty of 11kW chargers – relatively cheap – and maybe two or three 50kW DC chargers for rapid power. When you have manufacturers who demand three 150kW chargers, that’s too much: we’re operating dealerships, not charging stations.”