Paperless pledge: #BeatTheReceipt

20/05/2021 10:28

River Island, Holland & Barrett and Dunelm have become the first retailers to commit to #BeatTheReceipt’s Paperless Pledge, to reduce the amount of paper used in retail.

By signing the pledge, retailers commit to making paper receipts fully optional in their stores by 2023.  Currently, most tills will automatically print a paper receipt, regardless of whether the customer wants or needs one. The #BeatTheReceipt campaign is calling on retailers to turn off automatic printing before 2023, and only print one when requested. 

This call follows research conducted by The Carbon Trust, which found that each paper receipt emits 2.5g CO2e on average during its lifetime when landfilled at its end of life. Alongside this, the #BeatTheReceipt campaign found that:

• More than 11bn paper receipts produced annually in the UK, generating more than 28,000 tonnes of CO2e
• Over half of UK shoppers want the option to refuse a paper receipt 

Samantha Lind, campaigner at Beat The Receipt, said: “Paper receipts account for tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions every single year, and most of them end up straight in the bin. This is the retail industry’s ‘plastic straw’ moment, we’ve woken up to the damage we’re doing to the environment and it’s time for drastic change.”

“Customers want it, the retail industry can benefit from it, and our planet needs it.”

Anthony Houghton, Group Retail & Property Director, Holland & Barrett, said: “As a wellness retailer, we’re always looking for ways we can reduce our impact on our planet. We removed paper receipts from online orders two years ago and introduced optional paper receipts last year. Customers have responded to the change really well, and so far we’ve seen a  30% reduction in receipts being issued in our stores. We anticipate this will increase further with the introduction of  e-receipts later this year.”  

For more information on the campaign visit #BeatTheReceipt’s website.