Cisco is in the process of developing a comprehensive sustainable value chain strategy that includes a broad-based green packaging initiative. And, early results from this “packaging diet” are “sensational, to say the least,” reports Claudia Girrbach at Greener Computing earlier this week.
For example: (more…)
What is the environmental impact of pre-packaged sandwiches and baked goods? Are there ways businesses can work towards their sustainability goals –and cut costs –by changing the way these items are prepared, packaged and stored?
Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), an organization that works in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to help businesses reduce waste and develop sustainable products, wants answers to questions like these, and so it has launched a study into the amount of waste in the UK retail supply chain created by pre-prepared food.
The landmark study will include four representative products –sandwiches, pizza, quiches, and ready-made meals –and it aims to: (more…)
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…)
Proving itself (once again) to be a sustainability leader in its sector, U.S.-based global consumer electronics retailer Best Buy has joined Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), a coalition of major consumer companies advocating for strong U.S. climate and energy policy.
Best Buy joins other retail giants such as Nike, Starbucks and Levi Strauss & Co., who are already BICEP members. BICEP is coordinated by Ceres, a leading coalition of investors, environmental and public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as climate change.
“At Best Buy we’re committed to building sustainable business practices and helping our customers realize ways to live more sustainable lives,” says Laura Bishop, Best Buy’s Senior Director of Government Relations. “ We are honored to join BICEP in their efforts to advance legislation addressing climate change and promoting a clean energy economy.” (more…)
