The Trend of Sustainability in the Retail Sector

The Trend of Sustainability in the Retail Sector

Implementation of sustainability factors in the corporate world is very crucial for businesses to stay competitive and to keep stakeholders invested. There are several ways big corporations can incorporate sustainability in their core values and mission; internally and externally. Companies are currently facing environmental issues such as; global warming, pollution, stricter environmental regulations, carbon foot-print, energy use and effective use of resources – reduce, reuse and recycle. The trend in sustainability has been incorporated in all industries and has worked well with achieving the bottom line. Looking more closely at the retail sector; various sustainability methods have been initiated and implemented from recycling to green initiatives. The retail sector is massive and mainly functions in the service industry such as – online retailers, clothing, financial services, personal services, food and beverage, electronics and so on. “Retailers employ millions and directly enable most consumer purchases. As such, they are in a unique position to advance sustainability by educating consumers and offering products with recycled content, durability, and ethical supply chains.” (Sustainability and CSR in Retail. (n.d.). Furthermore, we will look into well-known and highly successful companies that are proving to be leaders in the field of environmental sustainability and how their operations management have been impacted.

To begin with, recycling has been an ongoing issue for many companies and some have or is trying to find ways to change the packaging, materials and energy use of some of the work that goes into making the final product. For example, “Staples, Inc., a company who made it to the Global 100 Sustainability Index, is the only one located in North America.”(Environmental Sustainability…Retail Sector. (2014, June) This is a huge achievement for this corporation who are known for its office supplies which help make more sustainable business practises happen by offering eco-conscious products, recycling and green services, maximizing energy efficiency and reducing waste. Moreover, the eco-friendly products are offered in a wide selection of categories such as, paper products, “Paper is FSC certified and contains 30% post-consumer recycled fiber, helping to both promote leading responsible forestry practices and paper recycling and reuse” (Staples.com®. (n.d.). Also, Staples remanufactures recycled products such as ink and toner cartridges which costs 10% to 15% less than a brand-new cartridge. According to environmental studies conducted by Rochester Institute of Technology “Using remanufactured ink and toner cartridges results in a 38% reduction in total energy use and a 36% reduction in global warming potential” (Staples.com®. (n.d.). For a long time, consumers have known this retailer for its pens in a wide variety; the company took that everyday product and was able to create eco-friendly pens. As mentioned on the company website, “…Staples uses post-consumer recycled materials in B2P® Ballpoint Pens from Pilot. These are the world's first pens to be made from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles and come in variety of ink color” (Staples.com®. (n.d.). Other recycling services this company offers is tech trade-in, tech recycling and Copy & Print and have been a huge success. Moving on, there are many big corporations that have implemented similar recycling practises as Staples such as; Nike, Adidas and Dell which embraces a selection of better environmental footwear and apparel materials from the best suppliers and source packaging from only sustainable materials for electronics. (Cheesman, G. (2013, June 10). Since these organizations have introduced recycling programs and made efforts to reduce their carbon emissions this in turn helped them mitigate the opposing effects of their business processes. These companies have increased their operations management and continue to reap the rewards with other ways of providing eco-friendly environments.

Likewise,  the use of energy at retail stores are also a major concern to the environment – organizations have been executing various strategies to lower the consumption of energy and have established eco-friendly stores. A perfect example of a company who have successfully introduced the principles of environmental sustainability is Starbucks. “In addition to purchasing Fair Trade Certified™ and certified organic coffee, the company is setting out to achieve LEED® certification for all new company-owned outlets” (Best Practices in Environmental Sustainability |Sustainable Practices. (n.d.). Starbucks is focused on creating “green stores” and that comes with major benefits like reduction of operating costs and the environmental impact on its business practices. The company also has a “green” building strategy which comprises of adjustment of the temperature in air-conditioned stores from 72°F to 75°F, purchasing cabinetry that is made with 90% post-industrial material and incorporating low-flow water valves. This initiative is a great benefit for Starbucks because they are receiving favorable public outlook and greater customer loyalty which in turn bring larger profits. Similarly, Walmart has recently opened its first location that is 100 percent LED-Lit as part of the nationwide adoption of the energy-sipping bulbs.  “Located in South Euclid, Ohio, is the first of its kind to use energy-efficient LED lighting in every aspect of the store, from illuminating parking lots and building signage to the ceiling lights and all refrigerated cases in the grocery section”. (Mazzoni, M. (2013, October 22). This kind of investment will not only bring energy-saving benefits for a long time but, also LEDs produce much less heat compared to other bulbs which can reduce cooling costs for the store.