Walmart*
"As the world’s largest retail seller of seafood, we know that by working to offer sustainably-harvested seafood at affordable prices, we can impact not only our customers, but the industry as a whole.”
Factsheet (pdf May 2008)
Office Depot
“The actions that Office Depot is undertaking and the commitments through their policies are demonstrating that it is possible to conserve nature and operate as a successful business.”
Justin WardVice President, Business Practices, Conservation International
2007 Corporate Citizenship Report
UPS
Letter from the Chairman"To be successful, we must strive for continuous improvement. Back in 2002, we set goals that became the basis of our annual sustainability report. We were the first in our industry to do so. We set goals following the standards of the time, many of which didn’t exist for the transportation industry.
In 2007, we reached a number of our goals and missed others..."
Scott DavisChairman and CEO
Sustainability Home Page
Service Lamp Home Page
Sustainability Examples
Sometimes looking at what needs to be done to be sustainable we may say simply, "It can't be done." But it isn't hard to find proof that it can be done, has been done, and done by low margin operators.
Three well known companies, Walmart*, Office Depot, and UPS have set pretty high sustainability goals. For the most part they are meeting goals for sustainability. These companies are by no means exceptions to the sustainability rule. Any issue of Chain Store Age magazine will have about five stories that relate to sustainable lighting or green buildings.
Walmart*
Three sustainability goals established by Walmart* are: (1) being supplied by 100% renewable energy, (2) creating zero waste and, (3) selling products that sustain our resources and environment.
It might seem incredible to envision a Walmart without a dumpster out back but that is their goal. They looked at liquids and decided to sell only concentrated product because they take less shelf space and cost less to ship. We will see how they deal with lighting in just a moment.
Office Depot
Office
Depot’s Environmental Vision is “To Increasingly Buy Green, Be Green
and Sell Green.”
Their vision is applied to (1) internal business operations, (2) merchandise for sale in general, and (3) a catalog of green products.
Office Depot also addressed lighting and energy efficiency but they have put a lot of effort into recycling and recycled products. Taking a laser printer cartridge back to OD will earn a pack of paper. The paper, of course, has recycled content. Office Depot has focused on their delivery trucks as well with an eye on sustainability.
UPS
The king of sustainable delivery trucks has to be UPS with the largest private fleet of alternative fuel vehicles and at least one of each type. They saved 3 million gallons of fuel in 2007 by minimizing left-hand turns.
UPS was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (6th Year). That is noteworthy because (1) there is a sustainability index and (2) investors pay attention to it.
Something to remember about UPS is they aren't just the friendly route driver in a brown truck. They have a freight operation and one of the largest aircraft fleets in the world. Their sustainability issue in terms of oil resources is huge.
Three companies doing some pretty interesting things to make sure they can continue their businesses and continue to grow their businesses well into the future. The examples cited may not even be their greatest achievements but they do give the range of sustainability steps that can be taken. Of course our primary interest is retail and sustainable lighting examples.