Home Depot gets an ‘A’ for climate action; energy use down 26%
The Home Depot has been recognized for its efforts to reduce its environmental impact and build a more sustainable future for consumers.
CDP, an environmental impact non-profit, named The Home Depot to its Climate Change "A List. (Thousands of companies disclose data about their environmental impacts to CDP annually for independent assessment and receive scores ranging from A to D- for how effectively they are tackling climate risks and building toward a future zero-carbon economy.)
"Our results come from making improvements kilowatt by kilowatt,” said Ron Jarvis, VP of environmental, Home Depot. “We've retrofitted LED lighting in more than 1,300 stores, installed energy-efficient heating, air-conditioning and ventilation systems in 133 stores, and have updated HVAC units in 467 stores.”
As a result of these initiatives, from 2010 to 2018, energy consumption at Home Depot’s U.S. stores decreased 26% , ahead of its stated goal for a 20% reduction by 2020.
"We constantly strive to improve the sustainability of our operations, because it's good for our business and good for the planet,” Jarvis said.
The Home Depot is focused on reducing carbon emissions by continually improving energy efficiency in its operations and expanding investments in renewable and alternative energy. As a result, the company has reduced absolute carbon emissions by over 3 million metric tons since 2009. This was achieved amid significant growth – from $66 billion in sales in 2008 to $108 billion in 2018.
The retailer also set science-based targets in 2018 to achieve a 40% reduction in its carbon emissions by 2030 and a 50% reduction by 2035.
The Home Depot has also taken steps to lessen the environmental impact of each mile its goods travel with the company's multiyear supply chain synchronization initiative. This approach incorporates and builds on clean transportation best practices throughout its supply chain. In 2018, the company shrank its supply chain emissions intensity by 6%, reducing the carbon dioxide produced for each unit consumed.
The company also eliminated over 117,000 truckloads in the U.S. in 2018 through supply chain efficiencies, and leverages green technologies like hydrogen fuel cells, which produce off-the-grid power, within its supply chain operations.
In addition, The Home Depot is tracking ahead of stated goals to help customers cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 million metric tons through 2020. The company offers more than 22,000 Energy Star products in stores and online, and sold more than 231 million units of these products, advancing its goal to help customers save $2.8 billion in energy costs.