What is the Courtauld Commitment Phase 2?

The Courtauld Commitment is a voluntary agreement aimed at improving resource efficiency and reducing the carbon and wider environmental impact of the grocery retail sector.

Phase 2 follows the original Courtauld Commitment (Phase 1), launched in 2005. It moves away from solely weight-based targets and aims to achieve more sustainable use of resources over the entire lifecycle of products, throughout the whole supply chain.

At the launch of the Commitment on 4th March 2010, 29 major retailers and brand owners had already pledged their commitment to this voluntary agreement.

Read what ministers had to say on Courtauld Phase 2...

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said:
"A fifth of household waste is packaging, and more than half of this comes from the groceries we buy. This packaging can be essential but in many cases using less and smarter packaging can achieve the same result.

"Grocery manufacturers and retailers have already started to take action and halted the increase in packaging. The new Commitment sees them go further than ever in reducing food waste and packaging, and making it smarter - and I want to see members of the industry continuing to sign-up over the coming months."
Edwin Poots, Environment Minister, Northern Ireland Assembly, said:
"I fully support this new commitment which will contribute to the delivery of our Waste Strategy through minimising waste packaging and increasing the potential to recycle packaging.
"The new agreement, which builds on the achievements of the first commitment, contains innovative and stretching targets based on clear environmental goals. Meeting these targets should also result in the potential for cost savings on the part of the signatories through improvements in resource efficiency.
"I would take this opportunity to encourage businesses in the food retail and manufacturing sectors which are operating in Northern Ireland to sign up to the commitment in order to reduce the environmental impact of the products we buy."
Jane Davidson, Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing, Welsh Assembly Government, said:
"The Welsh Assembly Government is determined to take decisive action to minimise the environmental impact of packaging and reduce waste but we cannot make a real difference unless retailers and consumers across Wales give us their full support.
"...Realising improvements in resource efficiency not only reduces the impact that retailers have on the environment but also provides potential for real cost savings for signatories.
"I am pleased to give Courtauld my full backing and encourage businesses across the Welsh food retail and manufacturing sectors to sign up, enabling us to move forward and make a real difference together."
Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, Scottish Government, said:
"As a nation, we have made excellent progress in making Scotland a cleaner place to live and today is an example of the true innovation happening on our doorstep.
"Last month, I announced that Scottish local authorities are recycling at nearly 36 per cent, edging ever closer to our target of 40 per cent – but we can’t stop at that. I am further encouraged to see some of Scotland’s major private sector companies doing their bit and signing up to this voluntary initiative".