Discourses and practices regarding low-carbon strategy: the case of French integrated retailers [Discursos y prácticas en materia de la estrategia del carbono: el caso de la gran distribución integrada en Francia]

The aim of this research is to understand, within the institutional field of French retailing, the carbon strategies that are implemented by integrated retailers such as Auchan, Casino and Carrefour. By combining the Boltanski and Thevenot polity model with the neo-institutionalist approach, we examine both the discourses and the practices that deal with low-carbon energy. These theoretical analyses are then used to understand the actual behaviours as well as the effective strategies that are initiated by retailers in respect of low-carbon activities. Finally, we discuss the place the integrated retailers grant to the wider issue of climate change.