RETAIL GOES GREEN

Wal-Mart to Open New Line of Energy-Saving Stores
January 18, 2007 (AP via Yahoo News)
- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, will open the first of a new line of energy-efficient stores in Kansas City, Mo., Friday that uses 20 percent less energy than other Wal-Mart Supercenters…the first in a series of "high-efficiency" stores that use technologies from two test "green" stores opened in 2005…

- …innovations include heating and cooling systems that recycle heat from refrigerators and freezer cases with higher-efficiency LED lights and sensors that turn off those lights when no customers are around…
- Wal-Mart said the new type of stores will move it closer to achieving its environmental goals…using less energy and producing less waste.
- Since late 2005, Wal-Mart has been taking the environmental offensive at a time when it is under attack from organized labor and other groups for its business practices, including employee pay and health benefits.
- Wal-Mart…is the biggest private user of electricity in the world and has huge potential to cut back on greenhouse gases from fossil fuels burned to create electricity…
- the more efficient heating and cooling systems and refrigerators were being retrofitted in existing stores. About 400 stores received the technology last year and another 400 are planned this year and each of the following years…through…2,200 Supercenters, which combine a discount store with a full grocery section, over 1,000 discount stores, 576 Sam's Club membership warehouses and 100 Neighborhood Market grocery stores…
- installation of the new equipment in new or existing stores pays for itself in about two years through lower utility costs.

Long before Wal-Mart was a household name, every Brit knew the cheapest place for knickers was Marks & Sparks.

M&S unveils carbon-neutral target
- High Street chain Marks & Spencer has announced a £200m, five-year plan to make the company carbon neutral…its "eco-plan"…will cut energy consumption, stop using landfill sites and stock more products made from recycled materials…

- M&S said the carbon savings it aimed to achieve under its plan would be like taking 100,000 cars off the road each year.
- As well as cutting energy and using more renewable materials, M&S will aim to source its food from the UK and the Republic of Ireland as a "priority" in an attempt to reduce air freight.
- Labels will identify food that has been flown into the UK.
- M&S was advised on its new environmental policy by former Friends of the Earth director Jonathon Porritt…"This plan raises the bar for everyone else - not just retailers but businesses in every sector," said Mr Porritt.
- Under its plan, much of the chain's polyester clothing will be made from recycled plastic bottles, instead of oil, and millions of garments will be made from fair trade cotton…
- M&S will also trial the use of food waste to power its 500-plus stores across the UK.
- The company's share price has risen steadily over the past 15 months as its fortunes have improved…