Sustainability

About two-thirds (64%) of the United States is covered by prescriptive lighting rebates, according to BriteSwitch, a rebate fulfillment company. These rebates can significantly reduce the installed cost of new lighting in existing buildings and improve payback by 20%-25%, which would reduce a two-year payback to about 1.5 years.

Despite the proliferation of the LED source, traditional lighting product rebates remain available.

Starbucks has opened a store in Ferguson, Missouri, a city that was rocked by racial unrest in 2014, as part of its ongoing initiative to open stores in at least 15 lower-income U.S. communities by 2018.

The opening follows the launch of a similar store in the Jamaica section of Queens, New York, in March. Both are part of a national plan to provide local jobs, create training opportunities for youth, and support efforts to rebuild and revitalize communities.

Haverty Furniture Company has been around since the late 19th century, but the specialty furniture retailer has a decidedly 21st-century approach to energy management.

“We want Havertys to be the company everyone wants to come work for,” said Rawson Haverty Jr., senior VP real estate and development, Havertys, during a session at Chain Store Age’s SPECS 2016 Conference, March 13-15, in Dallas.

Environmental stewardship, and thus energy conservation, is on the Atlanta-based furniture retailer’s list of 10 core values, Haverty explained.

Pre-leasing has begun on a $100 million mixed-use complex developed by Forest City Realty Trust that offers retailers an interesting opportunity to serve the bustling Chinatown area of Los Angeles.

The project, named Blossom Plaza, will feature 237 apartments and 19,000-sq.-ft. of commercial space on a two acre tract at the intersection of Broadway and College Street. Leasing the space on behalf of Forest City will be JLL VP Lorena Tomb and associate Danielle Cornwell.

The steel framing on Ikea’s future Memphis store has progressed far enough to allow for the installation of the chain’s iconic blue panels, a construction milestone that keeps the store on track to open this fall.

The 271,000-sq.-ft. store is being built on 35 acres in the Wolfchase Corridor along the southwestern side of Interstate-40 near the Germantown Parkway exit.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Staples with a 2016 Energy Star Partner of the Year — Sustained Excellence Award for its continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency achievements.

Staples, an Energy Star partner since 1992, is being honored for the energy efficient achievements of the certification of 612 total buildings, and recertification of 33 buildings in 2015.

Macy's chose Earth Day to give an update on its ongoing solar power deployments.

The retailer, in a 10-year partnership with SunPower Corp., has deployed SunPower solar systems at, or planned for, 71 Macy's and Bloomingdale's locations in 10 states, totaling approximately 39 megawatts.

Fifty SunPower systems are operating to date, and the company is contracted to install its technology at 21 additional Macy's and Bloomingdale's facilities this year.

Energy that comes from an unlikely source will help power a distributed center operated by Stop & Shop Supermarket Company.

The retailer has opened a “Green Energy Facility,” in Freetown, Massachusetts, that will convert inedible food from Stop & Shop’s 212 New England stores into energy that will help power the company's distribution center in Freetown.