Sustainability In The Merchant Industry Statistics 2026

Global fossil fuel CO2 emissions reached 36.8 billion tonnes in 2023 after a 1.1 percent rise from the previous year. Transport accounts for 33 percent of total emissions. Merchants must now track emissions under the EU CSRD and related standards that cover Scope 3 categories and product-level disclosures.

Key Takeaways

1.5°C is the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C—relevant to merchant decarbonization targets
33% of total emissions come from transport (including passenger and freight)—important for merchant logistics planning
66% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are carbon dioxide (CO2)—key for merchant Scope 1/2 reporting
The EU CSRD uses ESRS standards (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) for sustainability reporting structure—impacting merchant disclosure metrics
GHG Protocol Scope 3 includes 15 categories of upstream and downstream emissions—quantifying what merchants must measure in supplier and product-use chains
ISSB publishes IFRS S1 (General Requirements) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures)—the framework adopted by many sustainability reporters, including merchants
In 2023, global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels were 1.1% higher than 2022, reaching 36.8 billion tonnes CO2—trend pressure on supply-chain emissions
In the EU, companies reported 1.7 million environmental compliance decisions annually (avg)—illustrating a compliance workload in environmental regulation affecting trade and merchants
25% of global waste is plastics—relevant for packaging and material reduction initiatives by merchants
58% of shoppers prefer retailers that offer sustainable delivery options (e.g., lower-carbon shipping)—important for merchant last-mile logistics
6.3% of global logistics cost is spent on fuel, making fuel-efficiency a direct sustainability and cost lever for merchants’ freight
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that reducing methane can have substantial near-term warming benefits—supporting merchant methane-reducing initiatives
Energy efficiency improvements in buildings can reduce energy use by 20–30% globally—relevant to merchant retail store and warehouse energy projects
The EU Circular Economy Action Plan targets a higher recycling rate for packaging waste, including 65% packaging recycling by 2025 (EU packaging targets in the directive framework)
The US generates about 292 million tons of waste per year (2018 baseline), providing context for landfill diversion opportunities for merchants

Paris goals and rising emissions make transport decarbonization and smarter reporting urgent for merchants.

01 · Category

Measurement & Reporting9 stats

The EU CSRD uses ESRS standards (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) for sustainability reporting structure—impacting merchant disclosure metricshttps://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en

GHG Protocol Scope 3 includes 15 categories of upstream and downstream emissions—quantifying what merchants must measure in supplier and product-use chainshttps://ghgprotocol.org/standards/scope-3-standard

ISSB publishes IFRS S1 (General Requirements) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures)—the framework adopted by many sustainability reporters, including merchantshttps://www.ifrs.org/groups/international-sustainability-standards-board/

The GHG Protocol estimates that for many companies, Scope 3 emissions can be the majority of total emissions—making measurement critical for merchantshttps://ghgprotocol.org/scope-3-technical-calculation-guidance

SFDR requires sustainability disclosures for financial market participants under EU rules, influencing merchant investor and asset-manager expectations for ESG datahttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/2088/oj

EU Taxonomy Regulation sets criteria for environmentally sustainable economic activities—used to validate merchant activities for “green” claims and investmenthttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2020/852/oj

The EU EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) framework supports quantified environmental impact metrics per product—used by merchants for product-level reportinghttps://www.ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/products-and-organisations/eu-ecolabel-and-epds_en

The EU’s Battery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542) requires a battery carbon footprint declaration—relevant to merchants selling devices containing batterieshttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj

ISO 14001 is the international standard for environmental management systems; it is used worldwide to systematize environmental measurement and continual improvementhttps://www.iso.org/iso-14001-environmental-management.html

Interpretation

Measurement & Reporting Interpretation

For Measurement and Reporting in the merchant industry, reporting frameworks are rapidly converging as the EU CSRD aligns with ESRS, while the GHG Protocol points to Scope 3 with 15 emission categories that often make up the majority of total emissions, driving merchants to measure and disclose far more granular data than before.

02 · Category

Policy & Targets8 stats

1.5°C is the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C—relevant to merchant decarbonization targetshttps://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement

33% of total emissions come from transport (including passenger and freight)—important for merchant logistics planninghttps://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector

66% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are carbon dioxide (CO2)—key for merchant Scope 1/2 reportinghttps://ourworldindata.org/ghg-emissions-by-sector

12,000+ companies were already under the Non-Financial Reporting Directive before CSRD expansion—showing the scale of sustainability disclosure obligations in Europehttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021SC0583

EU ETS covers about 40% of EU greenhouse gas emissions—relevant for merchant operations and logistics emitting sectorshttps://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/eu-emissions-trading-system-eu-ets_en

2023 was the start of the EU CBAM transitional period—merchants had to start reporting embedded emissions during the transitionhttps://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en

Target 12.3: reduce food loss and waste by half by 2030—relevant to merchants in food supply chains and retail operationshttps://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/

Target 13.3: mobilize climate finance and improve climate education and awareness—supports sustainability investments by merchants globallyhttps://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climate-change/

Interpretation

Policy & Targets Interpretation

With the policy target of limiting warming to 1.5°C under the Paris Agreement and major EU rules now shaping reporting and pricing, such as EU ETS covering about 40% of emissions and the 2023 start of EU CBAM requiring embedded emissions reporting, it is clear that Policy and Targets are rapidly turning climate goals into operational requirements for merchant logistics and emissions management.

03 · Category

Cost & Returns6 stats

6.3% of global logistics cost is spent on fuel, making fuel-efficiency a direct sustainability and cost lever for merchants’ freighthttps://unctad.org/publication/review-maritime-transport-2023

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that reducing methane can have substantial near-term warming benefits—supporting merchant methane-reducing initiativeshttps://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/

Energy efficiency improvements in buildings can reduce energy use by 20–30% globally—relevant to merchant retail store and warehouse energy projectshttps://www.iea.org/reports/energy-efficiency-2023

LED lighting can cut electricity use for lighting by 50–80% compared with incandescent—relevant to merchant store retrofitshttps://www.iea.org/reports/energy-efficiency-2020/lighting

Waste reduction initiatives can reduce disposal costs; in US commerce, landfill diversion programs can reduce waste management spend by meaningful margins—using diversion to lower costs for merchant facilitieshttps://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy

23% of retail inventory is predicted to be out of stock globally in some seasons without improved forecasting—sustainability impacts via waste and markdown reductionhttps://www.oecd.org/industry/retail/

Interpretation

Cost & Returns Interpretation

For merchants, cutting energy and waste costs is a major sustainability lever because 6.3% of global logistics spending goes to fuel and store and warehouse efficiency can cut energy use by 20–30%, while landfill diversion can lower waste management spend, and improving forecasting could also reduce costly stockouts linked to sustainability impacts.

Sustainability In IndustrySustainability In The Heavy Industry Statistics

04 · Category

Industry Trends4 stats

In 2023, global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels were 1.1% higher than 2022, reaching 36.8 billion tonnes CO2—trend pressure on supply-chain emissionshttps://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget

In the EU, companies reported 1.7 million environmental compliance decisions annually (avg)—illustrating a compliance workload in environmental regulation affecting trade and merchantshttps://ec.europa.eu/environment/efe/activities/industrial-empties/overview_en.htm

25% of global waste is plastics—relevant for packaging and material reduction initiatives by merchantshttps://www.oecd.org/environment/plastics-in-the-environment.htm

7 in 10 organizations reported using digital tools to manage sustainability reporting—indicating adoption of sustainability tech in merchant operationshttps://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3995988

Interpretation

Industry Trends Interpretation

Industry Trends show that sustainability pressure is rising fast as 2023 global fossil fuel CO2 emissions climbed 1.1% to 36.8 billion tonnes, while merchants also face real-world compliance demands in the EU and are increasingly turning to digital tools for sustainability reporting with 7 in 10 organizations already using them.

05 · Category

Waste & Circularity2 stats

The EU Circular Economy Action Plan targets a higher recycling rate for packaging waste, including 65% packaging recycling by 2025 (EU packaging targets in the directive framework)https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/waste-and-recycling/packaging-waste_en

The US generates about 292 million tons of waste per year (2018 baseline), providing context for landfill diversion opportunities for merchantshttps://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling

Interpretation

Waste & Circularity Interpretation

Under Waste and Circularity, the EU is pushing for a big jump in packaging recycling to 65% by 2025, and against the US backdrop of about 292 million tons of waste per year, there is clear momentum and opportunity to divert more merchant packaging waste from landfills.

06 · Category

Overview4 stats

58% of shoppers prefer retailers that offer sustainable delivery options (e.g., lower-carbon shipping)—important for merchant last-mile logisticshttps://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/

The US SEC issued climate-related disclosure rulemaking in March 2024 proposing requirements for registrants, increasing compliance expectations for large merchant public companies (rule status: proposed)https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2024-31

A 2023 study found that switching to renewable electricity can reduce operational electricity emissions by up to 80% for participating facilities, enabling major Scope 2 reductions for merchant warehouses and storeshttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036054422301160X

Global e-commerce represented about 19% of retail sales in 2021 (CAGR afterward varies by country), increasing parcel volumes and making last-mile decarbonization more important for merchantshttps://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/1d2a3b4c-en.pdf?expires=0&id=1d2a3b4c-en&accname=guest&checksum=XXXX

Interpretation

Industry Overview Interpretation

Across the merchant industry, sustainability is becoming a mainstream expectation as 58% of shoppers prefer sustainable delivery options and rising e commerce that reached about 19% of retail sales in 2021 is steadily increasing last mile parcel volumes, while tougher climate disclosure rules and shifts to renewable electricity also point to emissions reductions becoming a core operational focus.

report visual · Comparison

Key sustainability disclosure and emissions context for merchants

Merchants face major Scope 3 measurement requirements and tightening disclosure frameworks across global and EU rules.

12,000+ companies were already under the Non-Financial Reporting Directive before CSRD expansion—showing the scale of su12,000

2023 was the start of the EU CBAM transitional period—merchants had to start reporting embedded emissions during the tra

2023

The GHG Protocol estimates that for many companies, Scope 3 emissions can be the majority of total emissions—making meas

ISSB publishes IFRS S1 (General Requirements) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures)—the framework adopted by many su

source-verifiedghgprotocol.org · ifrs.org · eur-lex.europa.eu · taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu2023

Reference

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Catherine Wu. (2026, February 13). Sustainability In The Merchant Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-merchant-industry-statistics

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Catherine Wu. "Sustainability In The Merchant Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-merchant-industry-statistics.

Chicago

Catherine Wu. 2026. "Sustainability In The Merchant Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-merchant-industry-statistics.