Retailers across the pond are unlikely to meet their 2040 net-zero target without government intervention, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has concluded, despite improvements in store and warehouse emissions, according to a five-year progress report that the United Kingdom-based trade association released this week.

The update, titled “UK Retail’s Road to Net Zero,” found that more than 93 percent of emissions remain in Scope 3—largely tied to overseas production, freight and product use—where retailers have the least direct control and the weakest data. The BRC further found that fragmented reporting systems, rising logistics costs and limited access to low-carbon infrastructure are slowing progress.

The consortium is calling for coordinated intervention between retailers, suppliers and the UK government to unblock Scope 3.

Its recommendation? A multi-stakeholder plan that standardizes data sharing, pools financing for low-carbon infrastructure—and bakes climate requirements into contracts and supplier programs. The consortium shared plans to convene partners and track annual progress but stressed that meaningful movement depends on government backing and enforceable accountability.

“It’s time for the UK retail industry to step up to radical industry collaboration in reducing emissions embedded in complex global supply chains and UK consumers homes,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC. “Progress relies on influencing suppliers, logistics partners and consumer behavior, making collaboration across the entire value chain—from sourcing to delivery—critical for both in-store and online retail.”

For context: The BRC Climate Action Roadmap was established in 2020 to set a sector-wide pledge to reach net zero by 2040—a full decade ahead of the UK’s national target. The roadmap is framed as a sector-wide blueprint, positioning retailers at key points in the supply chain as central to cutting emissions upstream and downstream.

“Five years on, this ambition has not changed—but the business context has,” Dickinson said in the report’s foreword. “Since 2020, net zero has been buffeted by strong political, regulatory and financial headwinds. What was once a shared ambition is now debated in political, policy and regulatory arenas—creating uncertainty for businesses and consumers alike.”

The review pairs updated emissions baselining with a progress check on 2025 milestones. The data shows where carbon sits; the milestone survey shows how little of it is being reduced.

The updated footprinting shows most emissions in product manufacturing, use and disposal—not in stores—and establishes a new baseline that appears 11 percent higher than 2019. The BRC said the increase likely reflects better data coverage, not a spike in emissions.

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While the BRC noted progress by individual companies, the report highlighted unresolved structural barriers: policy uncertainty, fragmented supply chains, cost pressures and gaps in available technology.

“The impacts of successive Budgets has placed further financial strain on the industry, and within this context the business case for decarbonization has been increasingly pitted as counter to growth,” Dickinson said. “But in contrast, what has become increasingly clear is the reality of the climate emergency: it is no longer tomorrow’s problem; it is here today, disrupting supply chains, driving shortages, increasing costs for households—and threatening the long-term stability and resilience of UK retail.”

The analysis finds two subsectors responsible for more than three-quarters of emissions: food retail (61 percent) and online retail (16 percent).

The BRC also said retailers have made the fastest progress where they control the variables themselves—upgrading operations, improving energy performance and aligning with emerging regulations such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and EU Deforestation Regulation reporting rules.

But movement toward 2025 milestones is uneven, with the weakest results in goals that depend on suppliers, logistics partners, consumers or government policy. Supplier data remains the sharpest gap. Member surveys cite the same issues across the board: supply-chain complexity and unclear policy, with financial pressures limiting low-carbon investment.

“Retailers have demonstrated positive progress in decarbonizing their direct operations, yet the lack of measurable reduction across the value chain must serve as a reality check for the industry,” Dickinson said. “Our call to action is clear: to move from collective ambition to action, radical collaboration across the retail industry must start now.”

The BRC reported freight transparency improvements, with around 80 percent of logistics providers sharing emissions data—up from 50 percent last year. The uptick, per the BRC, suggests that reporting standards are beginning to take hold across transport partners, though coverage and consistency still vary.

Take Ikea, for example. The Swedish home furnishing giant uses the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) framework to standardize reporting across multiple transport modes, drawing on primary data rather than generic estimates. According to the BRC’s estimates, such an approach sharpened accuracy: contributing to a 26 percent reduction in relative transport emissions since fiscal year 2017.

Retailers are also piloting supplier programs. Superdry, for one, has reportedly shared support for 40,000 cotton farmers and has enabled organic cotton supply for its full annual need. The John Lewis Partnership, meanwhile, is funding factory efficiency and water-use projects in Indian textile hubs with WWF India.

Sector pilots through platforms, like the Fashion Pact and Make It Zero, aim to standardize expectations, but adoption remains inconsistent. Such initiatives, per the BRC, confirm that targeted investment can move the needle. Granted, the report reiterated that widespread adoption would depend on broader participation and clearer policy signals.

“Without a step change approach to collaboration in driving radical change across retail’s vast, complex global value chains, we won’t tackle more than 90 percent of UK retail emission,” Dickinson said. “Net zero is not just a climate goal, but a strategic opportunity.”