Corporate Responsibility

With Earth Day upon the retail industry all sorts of operators are touting accomplishments, including Staples where an impressive milestone demonstrates how a company can do well by doing good.

The company said it has collected more than 450 million ink and toner cartridges for recycling in the U.S. since 2005, averaging more than 60 million cartridges per year for the past four years. Through the cartridge recycling program, Staples has helped recover and recycle 234 million pounds of plastics and metals, diverting roughly the weight of 8,000 full garbage trucks from landfills.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced it is donating one percent of every gift card sale to local nonprofits in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada.

"When a customer buys a gift card this Mother's Day and beyond, we hope they'll feel good knowing that the gift they're giving is a part of Nordstrom helping some great non-profit organizations do amazing things for their communities,” said Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores for Nordstrom.

Meijer is incenting customers to make generous donations to hunger relief organizations by offering to double their contributions.

As part of the retailer’s Simply Give hunger relief program, plans call for Meijer to contribute $20 every time a customer donates $10 resulting in a combined $30 donation to local food pantries. The company conducts its Simply Given campaign three times a year. The Spring effort runs through May 7 but the generous matching offer is good April 17-18.

New York -- Toms and Whole Foods Market grabbed the top spots in a survey of the most socially responsible companies by marketing consultancy Good Must Grow. Rounding out the top five: Microsoft, Starbucks and the Red Cross.

The survey asked consumers to name one company or organization that is socially responsible. Seventy-nine percent of the respondents said they were familiar with the term “socially responsible,” and of those, 77% said it was an important factor in their shopping behaviors.

Secaucus, N.J. - The Children's Place Inc. has rejected three board of directors nominees from shareholders Barington Capital Group L.P. and Macellum Advisors GP LLC. The two investment firms, which collectively own less than 2% of the company’s shares, sent a letter expressing concern about The Children’s Place financial performance and recommending new nominees in March 2015.

Lowe's outlined its progress in meeting its sustainability objectives in its 2014 Social Responsibility Report.

Bentonville, Ark. – Walton Enterprises LLC, the corporation which holds Wal-Mart stock for the Walton family, plans to sell off some of its ownership stake in the discount giant. In a brief statement on the Wal-Mart investors webpage, Walton Enterprises said its stake in Wal-Mart has risen to about 50% as a result of stock buyback programs.

Best Buy President and Chief Executive Officer Hubert Joly has added the title of Chairman to his responsibilities at the retailer after long time board member Hatim Tyabji and several others decided to step down.