Just like traditional grocery shops, Zéro - the zero waste shop, sells loose produce and promotes the use of reusable containers. The shop offers a very simple alternative to other, less environmentally-aware retail stores and gives consumers the possibility to obtain the same products with which they are already familiar but without unnecessary packaging.
Why is sustainability important to you?
Our main objective is to make a difference in the lives of other people in the borough by helping develop a new way of shopping that is more respectful of the environment and encourages everyone to reuse existing resources rather than relying on single-use consumption of goods.
What environmental issues particularly resonate with your business?
When it comes to environmental protection, the food industry and in particular the retail sector seems to have been left behind. Supermarkets are responsible for producing thousands of tonnes of plastic packaging each year and our country is faced with a growing food waste challenge. We believe that the retail sector has a key role to play in tackling these combined challenges of food waste and plastic packaging waste.
Why would you encourage other businesses to become a Business Champion?
Being part of a network means we can exchange ideas with other businesses and learn about their own experiences. It can also help us adopt a different perspective on the climate change issue. The current global climate crisis affects businesses across all industries and joining forces with others is a great way to achieve our goals quicker.
Over the last two years we found some precious help in Sustainable Merton and the Chamber of Commerce who did a lot to promote our zero waste project. We joined various networking events where we were given the opportunity to talk about our project with like-minded businesses in the borough.
What are your long term/short term sustainability objectives?
The main areas we would like to improve this year are:
Decrease the number of air miles per product
Increase the number of products that come in 100% paper or reusable containers
We would like to improve the energy efficiency of the shop
Alicia Bulbeck
JOIN US
Find out more about becoming a Business Champion and join Merton's Business Network for Climate Action HERE.