Greener labels, stronger bonds: driving engagement and value co-creation through retailers' sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals alignment

<b>Purpose</b>:<br/>The present study explores consumers’ perceptions of retailers' corporate image, focusing on corporate social responsibility, climate change engagement, and sustainability initiatives such as the adoption of recyclable packaging and efforts to reduce carbon footprints and CO₂ emissions.<br/><br/><b>Design/methodology/approach</b>:<br/>An exploratory research approach was employed to gain deeper insights into consumers' perceptions of retailers' corporate image and sustainability practices. The study involved six focus group discussions conducted with a total of 33 consumers of private label brands.<br/><br/><b>Findings</b>:<br/>The research reveals that customers actively seek information about private label brand product ingredients, sourcing, production processes (such as fair-trade practices and the treatment of producers and employees), as well as the retailer's sustainability initiatives, including recyclable packaging and efforts to reduce carbon footprints and CO₂ emissions. Further, customers’ sustainability impacts their value co-creation behaviour and overall retail engagement.<br/><br/><b>Originality/value</b>:<br/>This study is among the first to qualitatively examine how retailers’ sustainability initiatives and alignment with UN SDG12 and SDG8 influence customer engagement and value co-creation in the private label brand context. Unlike prior research, which treated these concepts separately, it provides an integrated view of how sustainability narratives, ethical sourcing, corporate social responsibility, and eco-friendly practices foster deeper customer engagement. The findings show that sustainability cues prompt both active and passive co-creative behaviours, including advocacy, feedback, and eco-conscious participation. A conceptual model is proposed to illustrate the dynamic relationship between sustainability, engagement, and value co-creation, highlighting the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural dimensions that shape consumer participation.