Sustainability has become a topic of great interest to the contemporary world, as sustainable business could provide the resources future generations need for survival and full development. The most important step towards sustainable development is to rethink production processes and current consumption behaviours that are inconsistent with the principles of sustainability. Due to its economic power and privileged position as an intermediary between supply and demand, retail has worldwide influence on the sustainability strategies of producers and on consumption patterns.

In this context, this paper aims to measure the sustainability of retail in EU countries by creating an Index of Sustainability of European Retail (ISER). The development of this index was based on a proprietary measurement methodology, using three categories of determinants of sustainable retail, ten variables, content analysis of statistical data retrieved from Eurostat, GFK and Yale University. The results of the study allowed us to evaluate EU countries based on the economic, social and environmental performance of their retail industries and to develop a map of sustainable European retail.