J.C. Penney pursues sustainability in fiscal year 2012

Plano, Texas – J.C. Penney Co. released its 2013 Sustainability Report, outlining sustainability initiatives pursued during fiscal year 2012 ended Feb. 2013. Highlights of the report included:



• Stores and Operations: Through the company’s energy conservation efforts, J.C. Penney has received Energy Star certification in more than 500 locations and earned the Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award for five consecutive years.



• Supplier Social and Environmental Standards: The company contracted Bureau Veritas (BV) to perform independent social compliance audits. BV began independently auditing in February 2012, and completed 826 audits within 12 months.



• Product Safety: J.C. Penney partnered with BV’s Consumer Products Services group to analyze product performance test results and spot potential issues and concerns and encourages national brand partners to meet the same high production standards.



• Ethics: The company publishes a statement of business ethics in 10 languages to be accessible to associates in the countries where JCPenney does business.



• Employment: J.C. Penney has activated business resource teams and offers continuing education to its workforce.



• Community: J.C. Penney offers grants and sponsorships, disaster relief, in-kind donations and community engagement through employee giving and volunteerism. Customers joined efforts by rounding up their purchases to the nearest dollar and donating more $10 million to non-profit organizations from July to December 2012.



"J.C. Penney has recently experienced a time of transition and change, but we’ve never lost our focus on the importance of being socially and environmentally responsible," said Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III, CEO of J.C. Penney. "Supporting the communities we serve goes well beyond philanthropic efforts – it’s also about making mindful decisions in all of our operations, whether in stores, supply chain, customer service centers or international offices."