Environmental Sustainability

Yesterday was Earth Day, and Apple used its 424 worldwide retail stores to carry the banner of the company's environmental initiatives, turning the stores’ logos partially green and designating every store as a recycling drop-off location for electronics. The store involvement was part of a larger effort to explain and publicize the company's environmental progress, including a new set of web pages, a video titled "Better" that's narrated by Apple CEO Tim Cook, and a soon-to-be-released report on the company's environmental programs. 

With energy being one of REI's largest impacts on the climate, the company has committed to having all of its electricity come from clean renewable sources. With 26 solar electric systems generating energy and a strong program to invest in energy efficiency, REI now buys certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) as part of its strategy to procure energy from green sources, which now power all of its 130 stores, two distribution centers and company headquarters. Prior to the REC purchase, REI was listed on U.S. EPA Green Power Partnership's "Top 30 Retail," representing the country's largest green power retail users. 

When Eric Ryan helped start Method Products in 2001, the market for environmentally friendly soaps and cleaning products, he recalled, was a "niche of a niche of a niche." No longer. Target, one of the country's largest retailers, announced on Tuesday that it would expand its inventory of "natural, organic and sustainable" goods to meet growing customer demand. The company said it would introduce more than 120 new products over the next several months, and unveiled a new umbrella category for these items: "Made to Matter — Handpicked by Target."

When Lands’ End's green team was looking at ways to improve the company's sustainability, it decided to tackle a catalog problem. The company routinely stuffs a catalog into the package containing clothing being shipped out to a customer who's just placed an order. And often it would end up being the same catalog from which the customer just ordered. Now the company is carefully tracking that to save on the cost of printing a catalog that's headed straight for the recycling bin, said Randy Peterson, Lands’ End's senior director of sustainability.

Target has unveiled its new sustainable product standard, which was developed over the last two years in partnership with industry experts, vendors and NGOs. The new standard is intended to help establish a common language, definition and process for qualifying what makes a product more sustainable. "We know that sometimes it's challenging to pick the sustainable, good-for-you products you're looking for. That's why Target is taking an important step toward greater transparency, which we hope will lead to more sustainable and innovative products," the company said in a statement on its website. 

Nike’s new app Making helps designers and product creators make informed decisions about the environmental impact of the materials they choose. The free app, available to download from iTunes, ranks materials on four impact areas: water, chemistry, energy and waste. The designer-specific tool is easy to use and was created with insights and feedback from students at London College of Fashion's Centre for Sustainable Fashion. They also used the app to create their own capsule collections. 

In 2012, Target ended the harmful practice of sandblasting denim and committed to increase its organic food selection, according to its newly released sustainability report. The discount department store chain said it will increase its organic food selection by 25 percent by the end of 2017 and is on track to meet its goal of offering a 100 percent sustainable seafood selection in its stores.

For some retailers, environmental sustainability has been built into their company's core values from the beginning; for others, it's been embraced more recently. Regardless of its origin, environmental sustainability is becoming a core consideration for the retail industry, one that affects strategy, operations, workforce engagement, and connection to consumers and communities.

The next big environmentally minded startup may be funded by an unlikely source: Patagonia. The clothing giant recently decided to launch an internal venture fund, called $20 Million & Change, that will invest in startups working to make the world a better place via the clothing, food, water, energy and waste industries. Patagonia has never been a traditional clothing company. It's always cared more about environmental impact than most of its counterparts. Last year, the company went so far as to launch a campaign asking customers to buy less stuff. 

Cause-based marketing — i.e., attaching your business to a philanthropic endeavor or social cause — has become increasingly popular among retail brands today. Consumers want to know that the brands they're purchasing from are committed to more than just growing their bottom lines. They expect retailers to be involved in the communities where they operate, whether that means donating to the local children's hospital or helping to build a park. Three retailers that are at the forefront of cause-based marketing when it comes to environmental sustainability are Kohl's, Ikea and Staples.