Selfridges social media image
British retailer Selfridges has been awarded with the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores’ inaugural sustainability award for its innovative approach to corporate social responsibility.
Selfridges received the World’s Best Sustainability/CSR Campaign by A Department Store Award May 26 during the Global Department Store Summit in Zurich. Selfridges will retain the honor until 2018.
Symbol of change
IGDS created the Sustainability/CSR award to foster greater corporate social responsibility among its 40 international members.
The award was judged on three main criteria: the originality of the idea and implications for a greater context, campaign execution and the results and impact on consumers. More than 7,000 industry executives from brands, suppliers and vendors then voted in a public poll.
Retailers on the shortlist were then reviewed by the GDSS international jury. Selfridges found itself on the short list with Al Tayer Group from United Arab Emirates, Turkey’s Boyner, Isetan Mitsukoshi in Japan, Odel in Sri Lanka and Chile’s Paris Department Store.
Selfridges' Oxford Street flagship in London
Selfridges was chosen as the winner for its “Buying Better, Inspiring Change” campaign that includes its ongoing Project Ocean initiative.
Project Ocean includes the removal of all single-use water bottles at Selfridges’ locations including its Food Halls and restaurants in 2015 (see story).
The Buying Better, Inspiring Change campaign also features the Bright New Things Project, where the retailer championed sustainable fashion designers (see story).
Selfridges was also the first department store to receive the Carbon Trust Triple Standard certification for its reduction of carbon and water in addition to its waste management improvements.
Selfridges' Project Ocean launched in 2011
“We are thrilled that Selfridges’ strategic approach to corporate social responsibility, Buying Better, Inspiring Change, has been recognized with this global award,” said Anne Pitcher, managing director of Selfridges, in a statement. “More so than ever before, the role of business in society is changing, sustainability is no longer a bolt-on or a nice-to-have, it is in fact, integral to the success of any business.
“Over the last five years, we have deepened our understanding and commitment to sustainability which has become increasingly aligned with our business strategy and is now a core part of both what we do, and how we do it,” she said.