Drawing from 30 corporate sustainability reports and interviews with representatives of 20 retailers, the Retail Industry Leaders Association released what it claims is the first ever industry-wide Retail Sustainability Report.
“This report is a first look at the broader industry’s accomplishments, challenges, and future directions. It lays a foundation to determine where we can go from here,” said said Adam Siegel, RILA vice president of sustainability and retail operations in a statement.
RILA said companies that participated in the sustainability reports assembly included Safeway, Whole Foods, J.C Penney, Sears, Gap, VF Corp, DIY, “and big box retailers.”
According to RILA, the report identifies what the industry group says are four trends that revealed retailers are: “working with stakeholders across sectors to achieve sustainability goals; turning from sustainability as a cost and risk reduction measure to an opportunity for business growth; developing systems for continuous improvement by pulling together controls, measurement and management tools and IT systems; and fostering transparency in operations and in the supply chain.”
The report includes a sustainability outlook for the next five to ten years that forecasts sustainability will become integrated into the business; the drive to manage supply chain impacts will transform retailer-supplier relationships; industry collaboration will become the standard; business models will evolve as consumption habits change; and that customer expectations for corporate social responsibility also will push retailers accelerate their efforts.
RILA said target aims to achieve Energy Star certification for at least 75 percent of its sites by 2015, and that The Home Depot is working towards shrinking its environmental footprint such as using local materials, native plants and building controls at stores. Lowe's is working with the carriers that transport its goods to be smarter about fuel efficiency, RILA said.
All contents of this site are copyright 2010 by Northwest Publishing Center and Cargo Business News and may not be reproduced in any way without express written consent of the author.
