Sustainability

Online deal provider Groupon is attempting to increase supply chain efficiency in a way that will allow it to offer even more and better discounts.

Groupon is partnering with Optoro, a platform for returned and excess inventory, to better process returns for its Groupon Goods business. Groupon Goods offers discounts on physical items.

Ikea Canada is building a 328,000-sq. ft. store Halifax, Nova Scotia, that will feature a special focus on energy efficiency and waste management.

The store will take roughly 14-16 months to build once ground has been broken in summer 2016. It will be built to operate as the retailer’s most sustainable store in Canada, and include a rooftop solar photovoltaic installation that provides electricity to the store and a geothermal energy generation system to support heating and cooling needs.

In pursuit of its altruistic mission of creating a better everyday life for people, Ikea’s efforts go beyond selling opening price point home goods in cavernous stores.

This year's Ikea Foundation Soft Toys for Education campaign, which ran from Nov. 1 through Dec. 26, raised over $1.4 million in the U.S. alone through soft toys, Ikea Family children's books and card games sales.

On Tuesday, President Obama delivered his seventh and final State of the Union address to the Congress. Unlike the previous six, this was not a long list of policy agenda items he would like to see the Congress address in the coming year. It was, instead, a broader conversation regarding the state of American democracy.

Photo: Jeff Burt

Photo: Jack Ma and Howard Schultz, China Partner Family Forum

Energy Design Service Systems (EDSS) has opened a new office in Mexico, representing the culmination of the company’s year-long efforts to expand its market reach internationally and increase exports to Mexico.

EDSS welcomes its new sales representative Yennise Garza, who brings more than a decade of experience in sales and market research to the EDSS team. With Garza’s help, EDSS expects to participate in Mexico’s increasing efforts to reduce the country’s energy consumption to meet their ambitious carbon reduction goals.

The leading retail associations — including the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the Food Marketing Institute, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Retail Federation — gave a mixed reaction to new waste management proposals by the Environmental Protection Agency.

While the associations called the proposed regulations a “step forward,” they also expressed concern about how the rules would impact the disposal of unsold consumer products and pharmaceuticals by stores.

In 2016, retail chains will continue to face increasing competition and high consumer expectations. Changing regulations will also impact retail businesses. We see the regulatory issues below as the most critical for the retail industry this year and beyond.