Pernod Ricard GTR unveils pioneering sustainable merchandising tool
Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail (GTR) has revealed details of an industry-first Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) Tool dedicated to retail merchandising, as part of its commitment to lead the channel’s sustainable transformation.
The LCA Tool is part of its focus on Circular Making, one of the four pillars of Pernod Ricard Group’s global Good Times From a Good Place Sustainability & Responsibility strategy, with the objective of reducing its carbon footprint and minimizing waste.
Life Cycle Analysis predicts the impact of projects cumulatively over their lifecycle stages, enabling Pernod Ricard GTR to assess the potential environmental impact of its short and long-term retail activations, inform sustainable merchandising strategies and drive innovation.
The custom-built tool, developed in partnership with PIE Factory, a B Corp-certified sustainable design consultancy, is ground-breaking in making sustainable merchandising a possibility in travel retail.
In an industry-first move, it allows Pernod Ricard GTR to assess the environmental implications of design options for units such as wall-bays, gondolas and boutiques, including supplier choice, material selection, modularity, power consumption, logistics arrangements, end-of-life material destination and overall lifecycle carbon footprint. This enables PR GTR to accurately track data, set targets and publicly report on the impact and improvement of retail projects over time.
The move to eco-design as a standard practice for developing merchandising and point-of-sale materials (POS) is ground-breaking in the wine and spirit industry. Pernod Ricard GTR has made a commitment that all new retail projects will be guided by the LCA Tool, starting in July 2021.
The global launch of the LCA Tool for retail merchandising follows successful trials in the Martell boutique at China Duty Free Group Haitang Bay in Hainan, where retail units designed with the tool showed an almost 20% reduction in carbon footprint over their lifecycle.
Pernod Ricard GTR CEO Mohit Lal said: “Our Life Cycle Analysis Tool for retail fixtures is critical in driving our ambitions for sustainability forward. As of now, all our retail projects will be conceived with the tool, which means they will all comply with our carbon reduction objectives. Every company involved in travel retail has a role to play in our industry’s sustainable transformation, and our eco-design LCA tool is one example of how Pernod Ricard is leading the way.”
Daniel Worboys, Global Head of Retail Design at Pernod Ricard GTR, added: “We’re beyond excited and optimistic about the potential of our LCA tool in helping shape sustainable retail units. As data and innovation play an important role in the planning, management and evaluation of our efforts, it will help us track the progress of our contribution to our group’s wider targets. I look forward to working with our partners on new retail projects and bringing sustainable design to travelers around the world.”
