Editor’s Note: Retailers in Search of Another Type of Green

Lately the staff and I here at Retail Online Integration have been hearing a lot about retailers' environmental initiatives. Consider the following, all of which have been announced in the last few months:

✱ Ikea is currently installing 39,000 solar panels on the rooftops of its stores in the United Kingdom to help achieve its goal of deriving all of its energy from renewable sources. The furniture retailer also purchased a 12.3 megawatt wind farm in northern Scotland that will produce up to 30 percent of its U.K. electricity consumption. This is just the latest wind farm in Ikea's stable, joining others in Denmark, Germany, France and elsewhere in the U.K.

✱ Lord & Taylor is purchasing renewable energy for 100 percent of the electricity usage in its flagship Manhattan and Eastchester, N.Y. stores from Green Mountain Energy Company, a retail provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions. Over the lifetime of the two-year contract with Green Mountain Energy, which begins in November, Lord & Taylor will have purchased more than 26 million kilowatt hours of 100 percent wind power for the two stores. Lord & Taylor's clean energy purchase will replace the more than 20 million pounds of carbon dioxide needed for the stores annually. The savings represents the equivalent of not taking 3.6 million cab rides.

✱ In July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its Green Power Partnership ranking of the top 20 retailers embracing clean energy. The combined green power purchases of these organizations amounts to nearly 4 billion kilowatt hours of green power annually, which is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power more than 326,000 American homes each year. Kohl's topped the EPA's list, which also included Whole Foods Market (No. 2), Starbucks (No. 3) Staples (No. 4) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc./California and Texas facilities (No. 5).

These green power purchases help reduce the environmental impacts of electricity use and support the development of new renewable generation capacity nationwide.

It's Easy Being Green
What does all of this mean? For me it means that retailers who think "going green" is just another fad or marketing ploy should think again. Consumers are becoming more aware of the overall environmental impact retailers have on their communities. Therefore, it makes sense that leading retailers are taking real steps to change their business processes to be more green.

But to be green you don't have to go to the lengths the retailers mentioned here have gone to. By implementing a few of the following sustainable practices, your business can become more efficient — and save money in the process.

✱ Contact your local utility company to request an energy audit. Many utility providers offer an audit at no charge and provide recommendations of ways to reduce costs.

✱ Recycle paper, plastic, aluminum and ink cartridges; reuse packing materials and cardboard boxes; and use double-sided printing.

✱ Reduce paper transactions by going digital for bill payment, vendor ordering and invoices.

✱ Switch to rechargeable batteries; purchase energy-efficient PCs, printers and other equipment that has an EnergyStar label.

Once you begin to practice sustainability, don't keep it a secret. Announce your new green initiatives to customers, staff and even vendors. Let them know your company is committed to saving the environment by making responsible choices.

Save the Date
We're excited to present our Retail Marketing Virtual Conference & Expo – Fall 2011 on Sept. 27. This free, all-day event features retail leaders such as eBags' Peter Cobb, Forrester Research's Andy Hoar and Soap.com's Teju Prabhakar discussing the hottest retail marketing topics of the day. To learn more about the conference and to register, go to virtualshow.retailonlineintegration.com/fall/. I hope to "see" you there.