Sustainability

Making the Leap into reCommerce

Retailers partnering with Gazelle on electronics trade-in, recycling programs
From Jul 2010 | By Barbara Thau | Tags: Nuts and Bolts, Sustainability
Sustainability
Barbara Thau
Retailers partnering with Gazelle on electronics trade-in, recycling programs

Trade-ins of used electronics could become a viable revenue stream for major retailers, and a firm that bills itself as the nation’s largest reCommerce company is working to make that happen.

Under the program established by trade-in and recycling firm Gazelle, merchants reward shoppers with gift cards when they turn in their used home electronics. What’s in it for retailers? ReCommerce has the potential to boost store traffic, accelerate sales, foster shopper loyalty and enhance merchants’ eco-friendly image, says CEO Israel Ganot.

Brilliant Reduction

LEDs helping halve energy consumption at BrandsMart prototype
From Jun 2010 | By Janet Groeber | Tags: Nuts & Bolts, Sustainability
Sustainability
Janet Groeber
LEDs helping halve energy consumption at BrandsMart prototype

Customers shopping the newest BrandsMart USA in Buford, Ga., for the best prices on more than 50,000 electronics products and appliances are probably unaware that the 118,000-sq.-ft. store is among the “greenest” retail sites in the country. But the store, one of 10 operated by the Hollywood, Fla.-based company, has earned 32 LEED points and is awaiting LEED Silver certification.

Greening the Bottom Line

Sustainability efforts save money and natural resources
From Apr 2010 | By Fiona Soltes | Tags: Nuts & Bolts, Sustainability
Sustainability
Fiona Soltes
Sustainability efforts save money and natural resources

A couple of years ago, Mark Peternell, then the new vice president of sustainability for Regency Centers, was certain that demand for all things “green” would soon be a primary driver for retailers.

But the economic landscape has changed, and leaner times mean that sustainability efforts may be taking a back seat to survival tactics. For some, green still equates to “more expensive” or “luxury.”

Selecting Sustainable Manufacturers

From Mar 2010 | By caiolae | Tags: Consider This, Sustainability
POV
caiolae

Building and maintaining sustainable stores is becoming a top priority for retailers, as green initiatives impact practically every executive decision. When retail executives can track tangible cost reductions to sustainable practices, adopting sustainable processes becomes a no-brainer.

Green Light

LEDs are a key component of restaurant’s bid for LEED Gold certification
From Oct 2009 | By D. Gail Fleenor | Tags: Nuts and Bolts, Sustainability
Sustainability
D. Gail Fleenor
LEDs are a key component of restaurant’s bid for LEED Gold certification

Ric Richards owns seven McDonald’s restaurants in North Carolina’s Research Triangle area. Earlier this year, he demolished an existing location in Cary and replaced it with what he hopes will soon become one of the first LEED Gold certified fast-food establishments in the country.

The green building was the culmination of more than two years of research and planning, and many of the energy-saving benefits come from new LED lighting supplied by Cree, based in nearby Durham.

Footlongs' Footprint

SUBWAY taking a fresh approach to “greening” its supply chain
From Sep 2009 | By M.V. Greene | Tags: Nuts and Bolts, Sustainability
Sustainability
M.V. Greene
SUBWAY taking a fresh approach to “greening” its supply chain

Can squeezing more pickles into a pouch make that $5 Footlong easier to swallow? SUBWAY thinks so.

Guided by its “Eat Fresh” motto, SUBWAY is intent on nurturing a “green” logistics strategy by reducing the carbon footprint of its massive supply chain while reducing costs at the same time.

It Pays to Be Green

From Jul 2009 | By Ben Jablow | Tags: Consider This, Sustainability
Point of View
Ben Jablow

It’s difficult to go a day without seeing the latest “green” news in the headlines. From the fight against global warming to fuel emission standards to the Obama administration’s recent announcement that it will spend $4 billion to create green jobs, environment-related initiatives have become an important fixture of society.

Sustained Efforts

OfficeMax committed to reducing its – and its customers' – carbon footprint
From Jul 2009 | By Karen M. Kroll | Tags: Nuts & Bolts, Sustainability
Exclusive web-only article
Karen M. Kroll
OfficeMax committed to reducing its – and its customers' – carbon footprint

Between 2006 and 2007, OfficeMax cut CO2 emissions by nearly 11 percent and reduced the amount of electricity and fuel it used by 7 percent and 9 percent, respectively, even as it opened more than five dozen new stores. It is also the first company to distribute nationally 100 percent post-consumer color copier paper manufactured by wind power.

Ryan Vero, OfficeMax's executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, discusses the environmental initiatives under way at the Naperville, Ill.-based office supply retailer.

Turmoil for the Russian Retail Market

Russia has been significantly impacted by the global financial crisis, sending shockwaves through the country
From May 2009 | By Milos Ryba | Tags: Executive Suite, Sustainability
End Cap
Russia has been significantly impacted by the global financial crisis, sending shockwaves through the country

After a 10-year boom that saw real GDP grow by 8 percent, 2009 will see the Russian economy shrink by 5 to 10 percent, depending on the price of oil. The ruble has lost more than 30 percent of its value against the dollar, which has led to high food prices as a substantial amount of food is imported.

Clean and Green

Meijer the first U.S. retailer to sell ecostore product line
From May 2009 | By Fred Minnick | Tags: Nuts & Bolts, Sustainability
Sustainability
Fred Minnick
Meijer the first U.S. retailer to sell ecostore product line

When New Zealand-based ecostore USA was looking for stateside retailers to sell its line of green cleaning products, company executives interviewed all the big names.

Everyone, it seems, is adding or creating green lines these days, but after hearing the ecostore story — how sales in its home market are growing 50 percent a year, why founder Malcolm Rands is called "ecoman" in New Zealand and Australia, and how the organic gardener and environmental pioneer has taken ecostore from a mail-order business to a dynamic international company — many wanted to sell the products.

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