The SIRA initiative – helping Irish retail businesses become more sustainable
In June 2022, BehaviourWise and Think Plan Do Consulting launched SIRA (Sustainable Irish Retail Action) in partnership with Retail Excellence and Champion Green and with the support of our sponsors Vodafone, AIB, SuperValu and Tap Creative.
‘Intention – Action Gap'
The first step in the SIRA initiative was our response to a common behavioural challenge – how to bridge the gap between good intentions and action. We call this the Intention – Action Gap. The good intention in this case is the high level of motivation among Irish retailers to make their businesses as sustainable as possible. The action is taking concrete steps to deliver that.
We began by listening. BehaviourWise conducted a survey among 232 owners, directors and senior managers of Irish retail businesses in February and March 2022. It confirmed retailers strong motivation to make their businesses more sustainable, and what was getting in the way of them taking action.
When asked what supports they would find most useful, 7 out of 10 retailers said an online ‘one-stop-shop’ with links to further information. While there are lots of sustainability supports out there, they are not always easy to find. Information about sustainability is often complex and time consuming to wade through. Retailers told us what was missing - a ‘one-stop-shop’ where they could find what they needed quickly and easily.
To bridge the gap we created the SIRA e-guide, a practical step-by-step guide to making a retail business sustainable. It contains advice, tips, ideas and case studies, and provides direct links to further information and support.
We didn’t reinvent the wheel – we demystified, simplified
and signposted to make it easy to find out what to do and how to do it.
