Sustainable initiatives help Canada's retailers save money, say RBC and Retail Council of Canada
March 15 2012 - 2:00PM
PR Newswire (Canada)
Re-envisioning Retail report highlights sustainable retailers'
success TORONTO, March 15, 2012 /CNW/ - Canadian retailers who
adopt sustainable business practices are differentiating themselves
in an increasingly competitive marketplace and also significantly
reducing their costs, according to a new report released today by
RBC and Retail Council of Canada (RCC). "Retailers profiled in this
report demonstrate that sustainable leadership doesn't need to
be a huge endeavour and that, by taking the first step, they can
create real change," said Andrea Bolger, head, Business Financial
Services, RBC. "Making a commitment to sustainable business
strategies has very tangible bottom line rewards and can help
mitigate environmental risks." The report, entitled Re-envisioning
Retail, highlights the risks and opportunities associated with
environmental sustainability. Retailers who have implemented
sustainable business practices and have benefited from greater
efficiency and productivity, improved employee retention and
enhanced brand reputation are profiled in the report. "Successful
retailers re-envision themselves constantly; they must change as
quickly as the world does," said Diane J. Brisebois, president and
CEO of RCC. "Sustainability is now a necessity. This report
illustrates the different ways retailers are evolving to do what is
required and provides leadership to those who are looking for ways
to improve their efforts." "We want retailers to move beyond a
'compliance' mind-set to viewing environmental sustainability as an
integral part of their business strategy," added Bolger. "By
greening their operations they have the opportunity to realize
incredible business value." Retail industry leaders' sustainability
initiatives profiled in Re-envisioning Retail include: -- Canadian
Tire:Implemented hundreds of sustainability initiatives over the
last two years, from lighting retrofits to efficiency improvements
in product transport, saving the retailer approximately $6 million
-- Home Depot Canada: Created a program that gives Canadian
manufacturers the opportunity to pitch innovative, environmentally
sustainable products. By supporting great ideas, the retailer hopes
to help transform the market by ensuring that sustainable products
are always on their store shelves. -- Sears Canada: Replaced more
than 116,000 incandescent lights in all of its Sears Home and
full-line stores across Canada, making it the first Canadian
retailer to install an LED retrofit. This resulted in a 75 per cent
annual reduction in energy consumption and two-year payback on
investment. -- Unilever: Conducted lifecycle analysis (LCA) on more
than 1,600 of its household products and found that 68 per cent of
its green house gas (GHG) emissions occur from consumers' use of
their products. The retailer hopes to empower 200 million consumers
to improve their own environment footprints and help reduce GHG
emissions by 2015. -- Walmart Canada: Commissioned an assessment of
its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and energy
systems at over 200 stores, resulting in adjustment changes that
created a 20 per cent increase in energy efficiency and will
provide a payback on investment of less than three years. -- Whole
Foods: Targeted April 2012 as the date when all ingredients will be
listed on the packages of all household cleaning products that they
sell, to enable their consumers to make greener, healthier choices.
Household cleaners that do not meet minimum standards will be
removed from store shelves. Copies of the Re-envisioning Retail
report are available on the RBC Commercial Advice Centre at
rbc.com/business-advice and on the Retail Council of Canada's
website at retailcouncil.org. RBC and the environment RBC has long
been committed to environmental sustainability, and will maintain
that commitment through the activities detailed in its
Environmental Blueprint. The RBC Environmental Blueprint formalizes
RBC's longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability,
outlining our policy, priorities and objectives, which include
reducing the intensity of our environmental footprint, promoting
responsible lending, and offering environmentally responsible
products and services. In 2011, RBC was named one of the
Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, one of
Canada's Greenest Employers, one of Canada's Top 50 Socially
Responsible Corporations, and one of Canada's Best 50
Corporate Citizens. RBC is also listed on the Dow Jones
Sustainability World and North American Indices, the Jantzi
Social Index, the FTSE4Good Index and the Canadian Carbon
Disclosure Leadership Index. About the Retail Council of Canada
(RCC) Retail Council of Canada, founded in 1963, is a
not-for-profit, industry-funded association representing more than
45,000 store fronts of all retail formats across Canada, including
department, specialty, discount, and independent stores, and online
merchants. RCC's mission is to be the Voice of Retail in Canada. We
speak for an industry that touches the daily lives of Canadians in
every corner of the country — by providing jobs, career
opportunities, and by investing in the communities we serve.
RCC members are actively involved in improving environmental
sustainability in every region of the country. Continuing to
provide products and services that consumers want in a sustainable
way is a top priority for RCC and our members. SOURCE RBC Image
with caption: "Re-envisioning Retail - published by RBC and the
Retail Council of Canada. (CNW Group/RBC)". Image available at:
http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120315_C4628_PHOTO_EN_11149.jpg
RBC CONTACT: Margie McNeil, RBC, 905-606-1425,
margie.mcneil@rbc.comAngela Gordon, RBC, 905-816-5650,
angela.gordon@rbc.comSally Ritchie, RCC, 416-574-2552,
sritchie@retailcouncil.org
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