Wholesale and Retail Trade

Sector scope and economic significance

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The sector corresponds to NACE Rev. 2 Section G: “Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.” It includes three main divisions: G45 motor vehicle and motorcycle trade and repair, G46 wholesale trade excluding motor vehicles, and G47 retail trade excluding motor vehicles. Eurostat defines distributive trade as the sale of goods without transformation, including associated activities such as sorting, grading, packing, repacking, storage and distribution. 

This is one of the largest sectors in the European business economy. In 2022, the EU had 5.8 million enterprises in distributive trade, representing 18.2% of all business economy enterprises. Retail trade accounted for the largest share of employment, while wholesale trade generated the largest share of value added. In 2023, distributive trade enterprises employed over 29.8 million people and generated approximately €1.576 trillion in value added, making it the second-largest business-economy sector by employment after manufacturing. 

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Sustainability profile of the sector

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The sustainability profile of wholesale and retail trade is different from heavy industry. Its direct emissions are usually lower than manufacturing, mining or energy supply, but its system-wide influence is very high because it sits between producers and consumers. Retailers and wholesalers shape product selection, packaging formats, logistics models, consumer behaviour, repairability, food waste, returns, private-label standards and supplier requirements. Therefore, the sector’s sustainability impact is mainly concentrated in energy use in stores and warehouses, refrigeration, transport and last-mile delivery, packaging, food waste, product returns, waste management, supply-chain due diligence, labour conditions and consumer transparency.

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In energy terms, the sector is a major component of the services economy. Eurostat reports that in 2023 the EU services sector consumed 4,937 PJ of final energy, equal to 13.5% of total EU final energy consumption, and that wholesale and retail trade activities were among the largest energy consumers within services. Electricity represented 51.2%and natural gas 26.0% of final energy consumption in the EU services sector in 2023. 

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Environmental sustainability issues

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The most important environmental issue for the sector is Scope 3 emissions, because most lifecycle impacts are embedded in the goods sold rather than in the retailer’s own facilities. For food retailers, emissions are linked to agriculture, food processing, cold chains and food waste. For fashion and consumer-goods retailers, emissions arise from materials, manufacturing, transport, use-phase impacts and end-of-life disposal. For vehicle trade and repair, the sector is directly exposed to the transition toward electric mobility, battery lifecycle management, spare parts, repairability and circular use of components.

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A second major issue is packaging waste. In 2023, the EU generated 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste, equal to 177.8 kg per inhabitant. Paper and cardboard represented 40.4% of packaging waste, plastic 19.8%, glass 18.8% and wood 15.8%. The EU’s overall packaging recycling rate reached 67.5% in 2023, close to the 2030 target of 70%, but plastic packaging remained more problematic: only Belgium and Latvia had already reached the 2030 plastic packaging recycling target of 55%. 

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Food waste is another critical challenge, especially for food retail and distribution. Eurostat estimates that in 2023 the EU generated around 130 kg of food waste per inhabitant, or slightly more than 58 million tonnes in total. Retail and other distribution of food accounted for around 10 kg per person, equal to 8% of total EU food waste. The European Commission announced a provisional agreement in February 2025 for binding food-waste reduction targets by 2030: 10% in food processing and manufacturing and 30% per capita in retail, restaurants, food services and households. 

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Energy efficiency in buildings is also central. Retail stores, shopping centres, warehouses and service workshops consume electricity for lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, digital systems, security, charging infrastructure and logistics operations. The European Environment Agency reports that buildings represented 33% of EU energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions in 2023, which makes building efficiency directly relevant for large retailers and wholesalers operating extensive property portfolios. 

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Circular economy and repair

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The repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles is already part of the sector’s core definition, but circular economy expectations are now expanding beyond vehicles to consumer electronics, appliances, textiles, furniture and other durable goods. The EU Directive on common rules promoting the repair of goods was adopted on 13 June 2024, entered into force on 30 July 2024, and must be transposed by Member States and applied from 31 July 2026. It aims to promote sustainable consumption by increasing repair and reuse both inside and outside legal guarantee periods. 

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This creates an important strategic opportunity for the sector. Retailers can move from a purely sales-based model toward repair, resale, refurbishment, spare-parts access, take-back schemes, extended warranties and product-as-a-service models. For motor vehicle and motorcycle repair businesses, sustainability performance increasingly depends on waste-oil management, tyre recovery, battery handling, parts reuse, safe disposal of fluids, technician training for electric vehicles and compliance with hazardous waste rules.

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Social sustainability issues

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The sector is labour-intensive and includes many SMEs, micro-enterprises and part-time workers. Eurostat notes that retail trade had the largest employment share within distributive trade, while large enterprises accounted for more than one-third of retail employment in 2022. The sector also has significant exposure to atypical hours, weekend work, temporary contracts, platform-based delivery, seasonal employment and high employee turnover. 

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Key social sustainability priorities therefore include fair wages, occupational health and safety, working-time predictability, collective representation, skills development, diversity and inclusion, customer-facing employee safety, and responsible use of digital monitoring technologies. Digitalisation and e-commerce are changing job profiles, requiring reskilling in data analytics, warehouse automation, omnichannel operations, electric-vehicle servicing, repair diagnostics, sustainable procurement and customer sustainability communication.

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Consumer protection is also a social issue. The sector is responsible for accurate environmental claims, product safety, transparent pricing, accessibility of essential goods, responsible marketing, data privacy in loyalty programmes and inclusive access to repair and return services. Greenwashing risks are rising as retailers increasingly use sustainability labels, carbon-neutral claims and eco-product categories.

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Governance and regulatory context

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The EU’s retail transition pathway, finalised in early 2024, was developed through a co-creation process with companies, business associations, public authorities, social partners, researchers, consumers and other stakeholders. It contains around 50 actions to support the retail ecosystem’s green and digital transition, resilience and competitiveness. 

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For larger companies, sustainability governance is increasingly shaped by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, European Sustainability Reporting Standards, EU taxonomy, supply-chain due diligence expectations, packaging rules, right-to-repair requirements, food-waste targets and product sustainability regulations. The European Commission’s retail pathway emphasises that the sector’s transition depends on collaboration across the value chain rather than only on individual company action. 

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Key sustainability risks

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The sector’s main environmental risks are high indirect emissions from purchased goods, energy-intensive store and warehouse operations, refrigerant leakage, packaging waste, food waste, logistics emissions, unsold inventory, returns, and waste from vehicle repair operations. The main social risks are low-paid and insecure employment, occupational health and safety incidents, algorithmic management, skills gaps, supplier labour risks and consumer misinformation. Governance risks include greenwashing, weak supplier traceability, poor ESG data systems, non-compliance with packaging and waste rules, insufficient product-safety controls and inadequate oversight of franchise or supplier networks.

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Key sustainability opportunities

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The most important opportunities are energy-efficient buildings, renewable electricity procurement, natural refrigerants, LED lighting, heat recovery, route optimisation, electric delivery fleets, reusable and recyclable packaging, food donation systems, dynamic pricing to reduce waste, repair and refurbishment services, spare-parts availability, resale models, circular vehicle parts, supplier ESG standards and transparent product labelling. Retailers and wholesalers can also influence upstream producers by setting procurement standards for deforestation-free products, recyclable packaging, lower-carbon materials, animal welfare, chemical safety and human-rights compliance.

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Recommended KPIs for sector assessment

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A robust sustainability assessment of this sector should include the following indicators: Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions per m² of sales or warehouse area; Scope 3 emissions per € turnover; electricity consumption per m²; renewable electricity share; refrigerant leakage rate; packaging intensity per unit sold or per € turnover; share of recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging; food waste per tonne of food sold; percentage of unsold food donated or valorised; logistics emissions per delivery or tonne-km; share of low-emission vehicles; return rate in e-commerce; repair rate; refurbished/resold product share; hazardous waste recovery rate in vehicle repair; employee turnover; lost-time injury frequency rate; training hours per employee; gender pay gap; supplier ESG audit coverage; and percentage of private-label suppliers covered by environmental and social standards.

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Overall sustainability assessment

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The Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles sector is a high-leverage sustainability sector. Its direct emissions are moderate compared with heavy industry, but its influence over consumption, logistics, packaging, repair, waste prevention and supplier behaviour is very large. The sector’s sustainability maturity in Europe is improving due to EU regulation, consumer pressure and operational cost incentives, especially in energy efficiency, packaging reduction, food-waste prevention and repairability. However, major gaps remain in Scope 3 measurement, supplier traceability, plastic packaging circularity, e-commerce returns, social conditions in fragmented supply chains and transparent consumer communication.

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The strategic direction for the sector should be clear: move from a linear “buy–sell–dispose” model to a low-carbon, circular, transparent and service-oriented trade model. The most advanced companies will be those that combine decarbonised operations with circular product strategies, credible supplier governance, fair employment practices and measurable consumer impact reduction.