2Sustain

On Monday, Marks & Spencer (M&S), one of Britain’s largest retailers, announced a program to expand the green initiatives it launched in 2007 in hopes of becoming the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015.

M&S first launched its ethical and eco plan, called Plan A, in January 2007. Its overall goals included making M&S carbon neutral, sending no waste from its operations to landfill, extending sustainable sourcing, setting new standards in ethical trading and helping customers and employees live a healthier lifestyle.

With this week’s announcement, the company has made a commitment to 80 ambitious new initiatives, many of which are going to major impacts on the M&S supplier network. For example, M&S is planning to: (more…)

This month’s RetailSolutionsOnline.com includes great commentary by Casey Chroust, EVP of RILA, the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

Chroust opens his piece, “The Future of Environmental Sustainability in Retail,” with this bold statement:

“Ten years from now, the term ‘environmental sustainability’ will have slipped entirely from the retail vocabulary. Why? Because by then the practices we define today as environmentally sustainable will have been so engrained in retail operations that they will simply be a part of how retail businesses operate and no longer require their own definition.”

(I certainly hope he’s right.)

Then, he goes on to list precisely how the retail business landscape is changing as retailers embrace a wide range of sustainability practices and supply chain innovations. (more…)

Recent research found that the vast majority of companies have, or are developing, some type of sustainable packaging policy.

But even though there’s a heightened awareness and lots of interest, green packaging remains poorly understood.

Fortunately, a new three-part online series by Nancy Parmer shines a spotlight on the issue, promising to address the fundamental concerns surrounding sustainable packaging and its role in the green supply chain.

Parmer, who is senior director of sustainability, customer solutions group, at UPS, says the series will dissect each of these three key green packaging strategies: (more…)

Recent research indicates that most companies have, or are developing, some type of sustainable packaging policy.

Need a case in point? Check out this press release from Hormel Foods. Following its reduction of 5.2 million pounds of product packaging in 2008, Hormel Foods just announced several new packaging projects that will reduce its environmental footprint (while simultaneously reducing packaging and transportation costs?) even more.

Despite the interest and heightened awareness, however, sustainable packaging remains poorly understood.  Packaging, itself, has a highly complex supply chain.  Who, then, is responsible for measuring packaging sustainability? What attributes and impacts should be measured, and how? Which indicators and metrics are commonly used?

There are plenty of questions. (more…)

The U.S. Postal Service has redesigned its green-oriented website, USPS.com/green, to make it even easier for consumers to find eco-friendly options for mail and shipping.

Visit the site and you’ll learn about USPS online services, eco-friendly packaging products, and how to green your mail. (If you have a spare three minutes, you can even calculate your personal carbon footprint.)

What’s more, the site also highlights the Postal Services’ overall commitment to environmental stewardship.

For instance, I learned that the Postal Service has established several very specific green goals, including: (more…)