A new report has suggested around one in six (15%) of retailers in the North West have cancelled contracts with suppliers across the last 12 months who don’t meet stringent ethical and sustainable standards.
Barclays Corporate Banking's 'Reshaping retail: how ethics and sustainability are changing retail’s ecosystem' concludes that the pandemic and an increasing focus on Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) are shifting business priorities.
In a study of more than 300 retail decision makers, 53% in the North West say sustainability is more important now than it was two years ago and 53% say the same about ethical standards.
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Additionally, 73% retailers in the North West think that a long-term strategy to improve their ethical and sustainable credentials is more important than overcoming short-term supply chain disruption.
On average, retail businesses with more than 10 staff are investing £504,000 per year to improve their own footprints.
Karen Johnson, head of retail and wholesale, Barclays Corporate Banking, said: "We are seeing a marked acceleration and shift among retailers in the North West towards prioritising sustainable and ethical standards in every part of their business operations.
"That is now starting to take its toll on retail suppliers with billions of pounds worth of contracts being cancelled every year.
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"It’s being driven by increasing consumer demand and will rise even further as Gen Z enter the workplace and begin to earn their own money.
"Retailers must continue to monitor and improve their ethical and sustainability standards if they are to appeal strongly to younger demographics."
While quality of product (74%) and price (75%) are shown to be the purchasing factors of most importance to consumers in the North West, ethical and sustainable credentials (53% and 53% respectively) are not far behind.