Duty and emissions free?

The duty-free industry is waking up to the fact that it may have to defend its position regarding the buying and selling of consumer goods in relation to the environment. The move is inevitable since the industry – worth an estimated USD37 billion in 2008, based on preliminary data from market research house Generation – is inextricably entwined with aviation, which has been under growing attack from the environmental lobby.

At a recent Brussels conference organised by the duty-free lobby group European Travel Retail Council, a session dedicated to the environment and corporate social responsibility (CSR) proved to be problematic. World Duty Free (WDF) business relations and external affairs director Sarah Branquinho says: "It was a struggle to get companies to take part in this session. But we need to share best practice in this industry because we are in the spotlight due to our aviation links."

It is true that duty-free operations are under more scrutiny and airport executives are taking this seriously. For every kilogramme of duty-free transported by air, an extra half a tonne of CO ₂ is emitted annually. In 2007 the total liquor sold in duty-free was just over 17 million nine-litre cases, according to International Wine and Spirit Record. If it were all transported in-flight, it adds up to more than 75 million tonnes of unnecessary CO ₂ output.

An obvious way for the duty-free industry to cut emission is by moving towards arrivals shopping, which has been implemented in several markets such as Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Norway and the Philippines.