Retail & Consumer Goods
How retailers and consumer brands use Darwin for product and supplier sustainability
Retail & Consumer Goods
Darwin helps retailers and consumer goods companies understand and reduce the biodiversity footprint of their products and supply chains.
Key Use Cases
Product Footprinting
Calculate biodiversity impact per product or category.
Supplier Assessment
Evaluate and compare supplier environmental performance.
Category-Level Assessment
The Challenge
Retailers carry thousands of SKUs across diverse categories. Understanding which categories and products have the highest biodiversity impact helps prioritize action.
How Darwin Helps
Analyze your product portfolio by category to identify impact hotspots.
Example Workflow
Define Categories
Create entities for your main product categories (Food, Apparel, Electronics, etc.).
Add Procurement Data
Input category-level spend or volume data.
Run Assessment
Darwin maps categories to commodity flows and environmental pressures.
Identify Hotspots
See which categories drive the most biodiversity impact.
Private Label Products
For own-brand products, go deeper:
Bill of Materials Analysis
- List all ingredients/materials in your private label product
- Specify quantities and supplier origins
- Darwin calculates precise product footprint
- Compare alternatives for eco-design
Use Cases
- Product development: Choose lower-impact ingredients
- Supplier selection: Compare supplier footprints
- Marketing claims: Substantiate sustainability messaging
Supplier Sustainability Program
Build a data-driven supplier engagement program:
Supplier Tiering
| Tier | Coverage | Data Type | Precision |
|---|---|---|---|
| All suppliers | Spend-based | Financial | Indicative |
| Strategic suppliers | Product volumes | Good | |
| Key partners | Commodity details | High |
Supplier Scorecards
Generate supplier-level biodiversity scores to:
- Benchmark suppliers within categories
- Set improvement targets
- Track progress over year
Store Operations
For physical retail locations:
Site Assessment
- Map store locations against environmental data
- Identify stores in sensitive areas
- Assess operational footprint (energy, water, waste)
Real Estate Decisions
- Screen new locations for environmental risk
- Due diligence for acquisitions
- Understand local biodiversity context
Customer-Facing Sustainability
Darwin data supports consumer communication:
Product Labeling
- Provide verifiable environmental metrics
- Support eco-labeling schemes
- Demonstrate supply chain traceability
Sustainability Reports
- Category-level impact disclosure
- Progress tracking year-over-year
- Benchmarking against peers
Compliance & Commitments
Darwin helps meet:
- CSRD double materiality requirements
- Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN)
- Consumer goods industry initiatives (CGF, etc.)
- Green claims substantiation requirements
Start with your highest-revenue categories or private label products where you have the most control and visibility.
Getting Started
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