2Sustain

Top retailers like Walmart, Tesco and Marks & Spencer are asking their suppliers to report on sustainability programs and provide customers with “greener” products, and now consumer goods companies are scrambling for ways to respond to these rapidly evolving lists of requirements.

Yesterday, Five Winds International, one of North America’s largest and most experienced consulting firms devoted to sustainability management, launched a website to help. The company researched retailers’ programs and developed specific tools to help suppliers understand how to get ahead of retailers’ requirements.
Designed specifically for brand managers and sustainability managers at consumer goods manufacturers, the new website includes: (more…)

Last week, The Home Depot announced new targets for lowering energy use in U.S. stores and reducing GHG emissions in its domestic supply chain.

Since 2004, The Home Depot has reduced its U.S. stores’ energy per square foot consumption by 16 percent, and now –after a series of rather straightforward operational programs including the upgrading of store HVAC systems, aligning of stocking hours more closely with store operating hours, use of CFL bulbs and a switch to T5 lighting –the company’s U.S. store energy usage stands at 21 kWh per square foot.

Remarkably, The Home Depot estimates that over the past six years it has saved 2.6 billion kWh of energy —which is enough energy to power 203,000 homes for one year.

But, the company doesn’t want to stop there. The Home Depot believes it can reach 20 kWh per square foot of energy usage by 2015. How? According to a press release, the stores will continue to gain operational and energy efficiencies through: (more…)

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…)

Safeway Inc. is now the first U.S.-based retail grocery chain and manufacturer of private label merchandise to join The Sustainability Consortium, an independent organization of diverse global participants that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation aimed at improving consumer product sustainability.

Specifically, Safeway is drawn to the Consortium’s product life cycle assessment (LCA) mission.  The company wants to aggregate data from throughout its supply chain –from primary sectors such as agriculture, dairy, packaging and fishery through industrial food processing to retail delivery –and then use this data to create a corporate-wide supply chain policy that encourages sustainable purchasing and manufacturing practices for the organization’s direct and indirect buying. (more…)

Apple released it 2010 Progress Report on Supplier Sustainability yesterday –two days ahead of its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday.

As I’m sure you’re aware, Apple’s manufacturing business is located primarily overseas, and the company has been dogged with labor problems ever since allegations of sub-par working conditions in China first surfaced in 2006. Since then, Apple has implemented training programs and increased factory audits to help ensure that its suppliers are adhering to the company’s Code of Conduct.

The new 24-page progress report offers details about Apple’s proactive approach to working with suppliers to protect worker rights and improve factory conditions. It includes an outline of the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, a summary of 2009 audits, plus details about violations and corrective actions to address them.

According to the new report, Apple does see positive progress –but also recognizes that much more work needs to be done to make sure suppliers meet expectations.  The company says it will continue to improve and expand its supplier responsibility program, which includes not only supplier audits, but also: (more…)