Sustainability

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Corp. was recognized with its third Green Power Partner of the Year Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Center for Resource Solutions. The chain is the first retailer to be named Partner of the Year for three consecutive years.

East Cleveland, Ohio -- Walgreens received GE Lighting’s Retailer of the Year award in recognition of the drugstore chain’s transition from F28 to F25 linear fluorescent lamps, a strategic move that enabled the company to achieve a 9% energy savings while also extending its re-lamp cycle — how frequently it changes bulbs — by 10%. The award was presented at GE’s third annual LED & Energy Efficient Lighting Trends for Retail conference, held at the lighting unit’s headquarters in East Cleveland, Ohio.

Birmingham, Mich. -- Sachse Construction has been awarded two Nike store projects, in Louisville, Ky., and Des Moines, Iowa. Both projects expect to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

The Nike Factory Store in Louisville is a 14,971-sq.-ft. remodel. The project took roughly 16 weeks to complete and was finished in mid-October.

The Des Moines Nike store is a 14,000-sq-ft. remodel. The project will take about 14 weeks and will be finished near the end of November.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Mattel has announced that Robert A. Eckert, 57, will retire as CEO, after 11 years with the company, effective Dec. 31. The board of directors has named Bryan G. Stockton, 58, who has held the position of chief operating officer for the last year, to succeed Eckert as CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2012. Eckert has agreed to continue in his role as chairman of the board, and the board has elected Stockton as a member of the board, effective January 1, 2012.

An early November announcement that an area of downtown Atlanta would become the site of a multi-modal transit hub was welcome news to anyone who has ever sat in the southern city’s many traffic snarls.

Specialty bedding retailer Mattress Firm has reduced its utility costs by more than $1 million by using an automated energy management system to control its HVAC and lighting.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. and BOSTON — Staples announced that it is working with Gazelle, a consumer electronics recommerce service, to launch an electronics trade-in program. 

Through the program, Staples will accept the trade-in of used electronics from more than 20 product categories regardless of where they were purchased, according to the company. Eligible items that do not have trade-in value can still be sent to Gazelle for free recycling or brought to the nearest Staples store for recycling. 

At a time when many bookstores, independents and chains, are struggling, Half Price Books remains on an upward trajectory, adding stores and expanding into new markets. The company opened its first store in 1972 in a converted, 1,000-sq.-ft. laundromat in Dallas, and now operates 113 stores across 16 states. It is the largest family-owned new and used bookstore chain in the United States.