Australia’s largest peak retail group, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), has announced a new  partnership with clean-tech start-up Greener to help retail and hospitality small businesses on their  sustainability journey towards net-zero emissions.  

Under the partnership, the ARA and Greener will co-design a new digital solution, called Greener Business,  to help small businesses understand and prioritise the steps they can take to reduce their carbon footprint. 

This first-to-market solution provides an opportunity to showcase the positive steps businesses have taken  to reduce emissions, then draws on a library of best practice interventions to develop a customised action  plan and rewards positive changes with consumer-facing trust marks. 

ARA CEO Paul Zahra said the partnership with Greener will help resource-constrained small businesses  define and reach their sustainability objectives faster. 

“Retail has a lot to contribute to Australia’s sustainability efforts and addressing environmental challenges is  a top priority for our industry and for the ARA. Pleasingly, we’ve seen many of our larger members embark  on their own sustainability journeys, with significant commitments already in place to achieve net zero  emissions,” Mr Zahra said. 

“With many small businesses in survival mode in recent years there are limited resources in the  sustainability space. There is also an enormous war for talent within sustainability roles and it is very challenging for smaller retailers to secure this expertise. Our partnership with Greener will provide support  and knowledge to help small businesses outline the initiatives they can take as they progress their  sustainability journey. 

“The ARA has been working proactively to unite the local retail community behind a common vision for  change, while also collaborating with global thought leaders as the second retail association to sign the UN backed Race to Zero Accelerator Pledge. Our partnership with Greener will take these commitments to the  next level,” Mr Zahra said.  

Greener co-founder Tom Ferrier said that organisations around the country want to get greener, especially  the 96% of businesses that are small-medium enterprises, but they don’t know how or can’t afford to hire a  Sustainability Manager to help. 

“Filling this gap between motivation and know-how is why we’ve worked with the ARA to create Greener  Business. This proprietary platform does all the hard work for these businesses by helping them to build  their own personalised pathway to zero emissions and waste,” Mr Ferrier said.  

“It replaces the need of having to hire sustainability resources, and the best news is, it brings these  businesses new customers for their efforts. Greener Business is reflective of our vision to create a new green economy, one where every dollar spent is carbon neutral to help end climate change. 

“We’re super excited about the partnership with the ARA which will help scale this ambition, while fast  tracking their commitment to accelerate the Race to Zero here in Australia,” Mr Ferrier said. 

The partnership between the ARA and Greener in developing the Greener Business product is one of the  initiatives highlighted by the ARA in its Climate Action Plan and will help Australian retail and hospitality  businesses start to deliver on the ARA’s Net-zero Roadmap for the sector.