retail sector - Adult male using laptop

Sustainable transformation in the retail and CPG sector: now, next and beyond

Michele  Camuri

Michele Camuri

Industry Lead, Retail & CPG, Microsoft Western Europe

Read Time, 2 min.

Technology is disrupting every industry, but perhaps none so fundamentally as retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG). The unstoppable rise of online shopping over the past two decades has totally transformed the retail landscape. Some retailers have emerged, others disappeared, while others still have adapted to remould themselves in an exceptionally competitive landscape.

The key to survival has been operational excellence. But it is now becoming clear that the future of retail and CPG is going to be defined by another issue too: sustainability. Fashion alone is responsible for 4% of global greenhouse emissions worldwide, while the proliferation of delivery services during the COVID-19 pandemic has further increased motivation to transform the sector’s environmental impact.

It is a huge challenge, and one that affects all parts of the supply chain. But with the right technology, it is one that all retail and CPG businesses can rise to.

Male and female first line workers in conversation at sales counter in retail store

The greatest opportunity for retail and CPG

Retail trends are driven by many factors – trade agreements, geography, climate, popular culture – but consumer demand is perhaps the most significant. And the pandemic has shown that consumers are increasingly influenced by the environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda.

This represents an opportunity for retailers, as many have realized. Sustainable products are growing in their strategic importance and C-Suite roles in retail and CPG are increasingly focused on how sustainability trends can become a key driver of profitable growth in the coming years.

Sustainability-marketed products represent an opportunity to increase revenue by catering to consumers’ ESG-related criteria, which are now more significant than ever. The key question is how to harness digital technology to support this move towards a more sustainably-minded retail and CPG sector in the future.

The sustainable transformation model

 

The Sustainable Transformation Model has been developed by Microsoft to provide a framework to support businesses in their efforts to create a better tomorrow.

It provides industry-specific guidance on how to take the next step forward, detailing what to consider now, next and beyond across 3 pillars of the sustainable business model:​ sustainable platform, sustainable collaboration and sustainable ecosystem.

Discover a more sustainable way of working for retail and CPG. Download the Sustainable Transformation Model today: 

 

 

 

 

Sustainability. Good For Business. Executive Playbook.

Provides guidance for 6 roles across the C-Suite on how to take the first step to a more sustainable and prosperous tomorrow.

6 minutes

Reducing global food waste with Azure

Danfoss has been using Microsoft Azure to track food storage temperatures, helping to reduce food wastage at a global level.

Discover more related articles per industry:

Education

  • Female college student sitting cross-legged on windowsill using a Surface Book on her lap (screen not shown).

    Enable better learning opportunities with Open Education Analytics

    Education institutions around the world are embracing a hybrid learning model. Yet many face challenges with data and AI due to dispersed or poorly governed assets and a lack of access to skilled professionals. Open Education Analytics (OEA) works to empower education institutions to overcome these hurdles to improve learning outcomes and provide students with the […]

Finance & Insurance

  • Sustainable Transformation in FSI: now, next and beyond

    Sustainable Transformation in FSI: now, next and beyond

    The connection between sustainability and finance is not new, but it’s one that is gathering pace. Capital allocation is increasingly directed towards sustainable investment projects in financial services, with Bloomberg reporting [1] that global socially responsible investments totalled over $30 trillion in 2019. Today’s customers also expect that companies they use not only act responsibly, but proactively pursue financial activities that make a positive […]

Government

  • Sunset over green nature

    What Smart City Expo tells us about sustainability efforts in Europe

    Sustainability is at the core of the urban mobility discussion. And for good reason. The exponential growth of urban populations has led to increased congestion and rising pollution levels that present one of the biggest challenges to global sustainability efforts. But governments are aware of the issue and almost all European cities are working hard […]

  • People riding bikes, scooters and a car with a bus in the background

    Smart City Expo: the latest trends in urban mobility discussed

    Many things define a city: geography, population, history, industry, nightlife. But few are more defining of a city’s status as ‘modern’ than transport. Urban mobility has become a critical issue for modern cities. Not only from the standpoint of convenience and connectivity, but because of its impact on the sustainability agenda too. The rapid growth […]

Manufacturing

  • Ponsse: Turning a forest-machine manufacturer into a data-driven business

    Ponsse: Turning a forest-machine manufacturer into a data-driven business

    “When our customers use our machines, they want to have real-time information on how those machines are functioning, how efficient they are. But they don’t want to be overwhelmed with raw data – they just want the intelligence, to know the best way to run their operations.”  Miika Soininen, is Director of Digital Services and IT at Ponsse, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of forestry machines. He’s talking about how his company is innovating with data to optimize its operations and offer transformative new services to their global […]

  • Railway Sustainable Futures

    Polish energy supplier dashes toward a green future with Microsoft Azure

    On track to making emission-free railways in Poland, PKP Energetyka blends the analytical capabilities of Power BI with Azure Machine Learning’s predictive forecasting models. A solution developed in tandem with Microsoft partner Elitmind enabled real-time management of renewable sources to secure appropriate energy levels for powering rails. With this new system, the company stays on […]

Retail

Discover more related articles per dossier:

Customer Stories

  • Forest Sustainability

    How Microsoft is helping to grow a startup planting forests

    The idea took root in Spain, in the dusty foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains. Where once there had been just fields and scrub, foresters were now hard at work planting thousands of seedlings, among them oak, walnut, cherry and birch. They named the forest Génesis.   It had all been paid for by startup Reforestum […]

Digital Transformation

  • a tree with a mountain in the background

    Lucas Joppa: A journey to sustainable transformation

    Business leaders all over the world are turning their attention towards reducing their environmental impact, and creating a more prosperous tomorrow. But, the journey to a sustainable future is one we all must make collectively. A global shift towards sustainable business transformation is no easy feat, but when we bring people and innovative technology together, […]