Digital Receipts and Carbon Emissions Calculator: how retailers can cut their carbon footprint

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More sustainable retail practices

It’s 2025 and sustainability is at the forefront of retailers’ priorities. Whether it’s the grocery, fashion, luxury, home or DIY sectors  - businesses are actively seeking new ways in which they can reduce their carbon footprint and generally be more environmentally friendly. 

From plastic-free packaging and refill stations to clothing recycling programmes and sustainable fabrics, retailers are testing and trying everything they can to ensure they aren’t just paying lip service to their climate and net-zero pledges but ensuring they are making a difference. 

But, which sustainable retail practices are making an impact? 

While many retailers are making meaningful and necessary sustainability efforts, not all initiatives achieve the impact they aim for. In some cases, brands face accusations of ‘Greenwashing’—where claims of environmental responsibility don’t align with real action or results.

In France, they’ve taken big steps towards more sustainable retail practices which are already making an impact. Their Anti-Waste and Circular Economy (AGEC) law was introduced in 2023 and aims to accelerate the change in production and consumption models to limit waste and preserve natural resources, biodiversity and climate. Within the legislation, they introduced a groundbreaking ban on the automatic printing of paper receipts, consequently reducing paper waste and having a positive environmental impact associated with the production, printing and disposal of receipts. We’ve calculated that French retailers could have reduced their carbon emissions by 15,000 tonnes in just one year as a result. 

When considering the cost, integration time, and operational challenges of various sustainability efforts, digital receipts stand out as one of the quickest and easiest ways for retailers to reduce their carbon footprint. They are also a highly visible example of a retailer’s sustainability commitments, which today’s eco-conscious shoppers are likely to notice.

How much carbon do printed receipts produce? 

Each printed paper receipt may only emit 2.5 grams of carbon over its lifetime, but when multiplied across thousands of stores and millions of daily transactions, the impact is staggering. Those grams quickly add up to tonnes, meaning major retailers—such as supermarkets and fashion brands—can save hundreds of tonnes of carbon emissions simply by phasing out printed receipts. 

The environmental impact of digital receipts

It’s clear that switching from paper to digital receipts significantly reduces carbon emissions, helping to lower your business’s environmental footprint. However, by eliminating the need for printed receipts, you’re also cutting down on paper waste and helping to preserve forests that would otherwise be used for till-roll production. And of course, there are paper and print cost savings, which can be material in large and enterprise retailers. Fewer receipts mean fewer trees harvested and less carbon released—replacing paper receipts with digital receipts is a simple switch with a big impact.

How much carbon can your business save by switching to digital receipts? Calculate your savings. 

Use our Carbon Emissions Calculator below to see the environmental impact—discover how much carbon you can cut and how many trees you can help preserve by going paperless.

How to integrate digital receipts into your retail strategy 

To discuss seamlessly integrating digital receipts into your customer journey, book a demo with the Yocuda team below.