Sustainability

Quincy, Mass. -- Stop & Shop has broken ground on the company’s first anaerobic digester at its distribution center in Freetown, Massachusetts. The state-of-the-art digester will turn food scraps into clean energy.

As part of its sustainability efforts, Stop & Shop plans to donate and divert as much food waste and unsold food as possible to regional food banks and farms. But food that cannot be donated will be sent to the digester. The supermarket retailer has set a long-term goal to divert 90% of waste going to landfills.

Phoenix – Local communities in Arizona reportedly can no longer ban plastic bags. According to the Associated Press, the Arizona state legislature has voted to make it illegal for cities and town to forbid the use of plastic bags, as well as Styrofoam containers or other disposable products, within their limits.

The state law also restricts local communities from requiring businesses to report energy usage.

A panel of architects, engineers and retailers discussed 2013 California Title 24, Part 6, which is widely acknowledged as the strictest energy code in the United States. And its relevance extends far beyond the Golden State.

“As California goes, so goes the nation,” said Ken Kosinski, construction director, Nike Factory Stores, North America, Nike.

The updated version of the code went into effect on July 1, 2014, and includes a big increase in the lighting-control requirement.

Seattle – Stockbrokers in need of a quick caffeine fix between bouts of buying and selling have a new resource. Starbucks Corp. is debuting its new express store format on Wall Street in New York, across from the New York Stock Exchange.

The compact 538-sq.-ft. store space is designed to provide a streamlined customer experience and provide what Starbucks calls an “espresso shot” version of visiting its stores. Starbucks is relying upon store design, customer service and technology to provide the convenience it promises.

Downtown LA’s South Park will emerge as a new retail district

It’s rare enough for any developer — or group of developers and brokers — to plan an entirely new retail district almost literally from the ground up. It’s utterly unique to do so in one of the largest cities in the world.

Yet, that’s exactly what’s happening in Downtown Los Angeles’ South Park neighborhood.

The famous poetic line “water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink” may hold more truth than most retailers realize.

“Less than 1% of water is drinkable and readily available, and less than 1% of that is surface water,” Jerry Yudelson, president, Green Building Initiative, told SPECS attendees.

Richardson, Texas -- EnTouch Controls announced that Chuck E. Cheese’s has ramped up its commitment to EnTouch 360° as its official energy management solution for corporate stores in North America.

Chuck E. Cheese’s store environment includes a playground and a host of video games for teens and adults. The energy costs for these video games, along with the energy needed to maintain comfortable temperatures for patrons, quickly adds up.

Oakville, Canada - Tim Hortons has released its fifth annual Sustainability and Responsibility Report, highlighting the company's 2014 performance results. Key accomplishments in 2014 include:

• Introduced Calorie Aware menu boards across Canada to highlight breakfast products under 350 calories.

• Increased the number of farmers who participated in the Tim Hortons Coffee Partnership Projects to a total of 4,830 farmers.