Corporate Responsibility

New York — J.C. Penney Co. on Friday said it fully backs its partnership with the popular television star and comedian Ellen DeGeneres. Its support comes after One Million Moms, an extension of the conservative American Family Association group, asked the retailer to dump DeGeneres as a spokeswoman because she is a lesbian.

New York City -- Saks Fifth Avenue said Friday that, during February, it will give 5% of all registered purchases made with a Saks Fifth Avenue credit card back to local charities.

Saks Fifth Avenue has partnered with 194 charitable organizations nationwide.

“We appreciate our customers’ charitable involvement and look forward to giving back locally with this exciting and newly implemented national program,” said Steve Sadove, chairman and CEO, Saks Inc.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM said Wednesday it has completed its acquisition of Emptoris Inc., expanding IBM’s cloud-based analytics offerings that provide supply chain intelligence, or smarter commerce.

“Developing the right procurement strategy and an adaptive supply chain are keys to achieving the business objectives of smarter commerce,” said Craig Hayman, general manager, IBM Industry Solutions. “Together, Emptoris and IBM's integrated solutions will transform how clients manage compliance and mitigate supply risk.”

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Department Stores announced that it has partnered with fashion designer Dana Buchman for an exclusive line of Kohl's Cares cause merchandise. The product line includes apparel, accessories and gifts, which can be found in all 40 Wisconsin Kohl’s stores and online at Kohls.com, with 100% of the net profit donated to support the fight against breast cancer. The collection is available now through the end of April.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot announced Tuesday the release of its 2011 Corporate Citizenship Report, highlighting its commitment to business, ethics, diversity, environmental sustainability and community.

Highlights of the report include diversity initiatives such as its Historically Underutilized Businesses catalog, which features products by businesses owned by minorities, women, the disabled and veterans; its ranking as the greenest retailer in America; and its compliance training initiatives.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Food Marketing Institute on Monday honored three supermarket executives for their achievements in the industry during FMI’s Midwinter Executive Conference here, the association announced.

The appointment of 16-year Target veteran John Mulligan as the company’s new CFO makes a lot of sense as Target will benefit from continuity of leadership in its finance department.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s has announced that Richard Dreiling has joined its board of directors. He will serve on the board’s audit and governance committees. The announcement brings Lowe’s board of directors to 12 members, 11 of whom are independent.