Sustainability

The Wendy’s Company is in the spotlight for dramatically reducing energy usage.    The company received two environmental awards from the 2016 Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) campaign. Wendy’s was recognized for the largest absolute number of facility upgrades and highest percentage energy savings in a retrofit of a parking lot.   

Starbucks Corp. has opened its 1,000th LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) location.    The store, in Ames, Iowa, uses LED lighting to decrease energy use by 30%. Water use was reduced by more than 50% due to low flow sinks and other equipment.    

Target Corp. is planning to test an agricultural process that involves growing plants indoors in precisely programmed conditions.   The discounter plans to test vertical farms within select U.S. stores, according Business Insider. The idea grew out of the Food + Future CoLab, a collaboration between Target, Ideo and the MIT Media Lab.  

Whole Foods Market is saving money and time — and benefiting the environment—by taking an innovative approach to going solar.

That’s according to an analysis by the Retail Industry Leaders Association and The Solar Foundation that found Whole Foods’ strategy of taking a standardized approach to rapid rollout of solar rooftop installations across multiple locations could be a valuable model for other retailers to consider.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is merging its sustainability-focused conference with Sustainable Brands.     Beginning in 2017, the two will produce a single conference together than includes a retail-specific program track, in addition to Sustainable Brands’ usual program, which covers sustainability-led brand innovation across multiple consumer-facing industries.  

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized The Home Depot for its eco-friendly freight transportation efforts.    The chain received a 2016 SmartWay Excellence Award for the fourth consecutive year for its contributions to cleaner, healthier air and reducing carbon emissions by hauling all freight with environmentally and energy efficient carriers.    

Three groups have joined together to empower commercial building landlords and tenants to improve energy efficiency in leased space and reap up to $5 billion in annual energy savings.   The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) are launching a coordinated national effort, called the Landlord-Tenant Energy Partnership, to reduce energy use across billions of square feet of leased space.