Corporate Responsibility

Williamsville, N.Y. -- Tops Friendly Markets has officially unveiled 12 former Grand Union stores in eastern and northern New York under the Tops banner at grand re-opening ceremonies.

The new Tops branded stores include stores in Saratoga, Warrensburg, Warren, Franklin, Essex, Clinton and Fulton counties.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — Leading home furnishings retailer Ikea has extended its partnership with ECOtality, a clean electric transportation and storage technologies company, and plans to add 24 Blink electric vehicle charging stations across eight more locations in the United States.

WASHINGTON — Lowe’s and the USO treated hundreds of servicemen and women and their families to an all-American event headlined by a charity grill-off at Nationals Park to thank the U.S. armed forces and celebrate the Fourth of July. 

Active-duty troops from each branch of the armed services grilled up burgers for the grilling competition.

The MillerCoors company is giving away a 2013 Ford Fusion SE as part of an innovative Facebook campaign targeting NASCAR fans to promote responsible consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Oklahoma City – Hobby Lobby has received permission from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver to continue its challenge of the federal mandate requiring for-profit employers to offer certain types of birth control coverage as part of their employee health care plans. As a result, Hobby Lobby will at least temporarily avoid having to start paying millions of dollars in fines for non-compliance next week.

Fremont, Calif. – George Zimmer, the founder and executive chairman of Men’s Wearhouse who was stripped of his executive chairman title last week and has been engaging in a war of words with the retailer ever since, continued his verbal battle in an open letter released on June 26.

The Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark. hosted the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G last week, and this week the golf tournament gave regional charity Cancer Challenge its largest gift ever.

In honor of its 20th anniversary this week, the Cancer Challenge received a $100,000 contribution from Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.

Framingham, Mass. – Staples has reached the milestone of having 500 buildings meet EPA Energy Star certification. The facilities include stores, distribution centers and sales offices nationwide. Staples also launched a goal to reach 1,000 Energy Star facilities by the end of 2016.

Cincinnati – As part of its seventh annual sustainability report, Kroger is committing to moving its stores toward the EPA zero waste threshold of 90%. Currently Kroger diverts 58% of its waste from stores and will increase that figure to 65% by the end of this year and 70% by the end of 2015. The retailer also is committing to sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil by the end of 2015.

HAMPSTEAD, Md. — JoS. A. Bank Clothiers teamed up with the Gary Sinise Foundation to give suits to thousands of military veterans as they re-enter the civilian workforce.