Editor’s Note: Retailers in Search of Another Type of Green

Lately the staff and I here at Retail Online Integration have been hearing a lot about retailers' environmental initiatives. Consider the following, all of which have been announced in the last few months:

✱ Ikea is currently installing 39,000 solar panels on the rooftops of its stores in the United Kingdom to help achieve its goal of deriving all of its energy from renewable sources. The furniture retailer also purchased a 12.3 megawatt wind farm in northern Scotland that will produce up to 30 percent of its U.K. electricity consumption. This is just the latest wind farm in Ikea's stable, joining others in Denmark, Germany, France and elsewhere in the U.K.