Sustainability

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer recently joined the U.S. Environment Protection Agency's GreenChill Partnership. Created as a voluntary partnership, GreenChill members focus on reducing refrigerant emissions and decreasing their impact on the environment and ultimately people's health. By joining GreenChill, Meijer is pledging to meet higher standards that go beyond the regulatory requirements to protect the ozone layer and combat climate change.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target has released its 2011 Corporate Responsibility Report, and while the company was happy to offer insight into its past performance, its focus is on the future. In that vein, the company has introduced new corporate responsibility goals:
 

• To increase its sustainable seafood selection by ennsuring its fresh and frozen seafood offerings are 100% sustainable and traceable by the end of fiscal year 2015.

• Enhance at least 50 owned-brand packaging designs to be more sustainable.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. has launched four new corporate responsibility goals, including a commitment to making at least 50 owned-brand packaging designs more sustainable by the end of fiscal year 2016. Target’s new goals were announced in conjunction with the release of its 2011 Corporate Responsibility Report.

Austin, Texas -- Green Mountain Power announced  that Lord & Taylor is purchasing 100% wind energy for seven of its stores in New Jersey. With this purchase, Lord & Taylor becomes the first commercial customer in New Jersey for Green Mountain, which recently began selling to businesses in the Garden State.

New York -- Staples and Starbucks Coffee Co. have joined a voluntary national initiative to reduce energy consumption. Under the Better Buildings Challenge, companies commit to reducing the energy use in their facilities by at least 20% by 2020, and to post their annual power consumption and information on their conservation projects on a U.S. Department of Energy website.

Staples, with 43 million sq. ft., joined the Better Buildings Challenge with a commitment to reduce energy intensity by 25% by 2020 and reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2025.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — OfficeMax has launched a new delivery program that reuses and recycles boxes it uses for deliveries to business customers. The new program – Boomerang Box by OfficeMax – is projected to reduce box consumption by 80% among participating businesses.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway has transitioned to using reusable product containers (RPCs), rather than corrugated boxes, to ship many types of produce from the farm fields, through the distribution channel and to final store destination. This transition eliminated the use of over 17 million pounds of corrugated boxes.

MINNEAPOLIS — Canned peaches, criminal records and political contributions were among the top shareholder concerns expressed at Target’s annual meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

New York -- Canned peaches, criminal records and political contributions were among the shareholder concerns expressed at Target’s annual meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

Santa Monica, Calif. -- Santa Monica Place, the open-air shopping center in downtown Santa Monica, Calif., has been awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.