EPA updates Top 20 Green Retailers list

The EPA has announced its updated Top 20 Retailer Partner Ranking for its Green Power Partnership program. First on the list is Kohl's, with Lowe's coming up in sixth place. According to the EPA:

Top Partner Rankings highlight the annual green power purchases of leading organizations within the United States and across individual industry sectors.

Here's the Reuters article, looking mainly at Kohls.

Glass tile distributor to buy carbon offsets for all U.S. product shipments

Hakatai, a distributor of imported glass mosaic tile, will now use carbon-neutral shipping on FedEx Ground and Expedited orders within the United States. The company has partnered with GreenShipping.com to purchase carbon offsets through Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a non-profit organization.

I spoke with Amanda at Hakatai, and she told me that the company is using the partnership to buy carbon offsets for all product shipments in the United States -- and the company is absorbing the cost to do so. Hakatai will not increase prices or shipping cost to customers, she said.

The lease you can do

Here's a detailed blog post on green leases in commercial real estate. I especially like how this essay combines practical info with a realistic mindset -- for example, giving examples of green tech gone wrong and stressing the importance of keeping on schedule and in budget -- while also pushing the most strict levels of certification, based on LEED standards and the 2008 BOMA Guide.

Green building is generally more costly and timely than the standard construction process. Landlords and tenants must realize this when determining the tenant improvement allowances detailed in the lease. Although having a green space is obviously an important issue, having a finished space ready in the necessary time period is generally a far more important issue. It is thus important for both parties to discuss these potential timing and cost issues with construction and design professionals that have green building experience that can provide advice in regard to both of these concerns.

Survey: 41% of retailers say sustainability is "key"

Prenova and Chain Store Age magazine have teamed up to produce a free report on sustainability and energy issues for retailers. You have to register with some basic data before you can download the PDF, but it's worth it. Here are a couple excerpts:

Without question, sustainability is a serious concern for retailers, regardless of the sales volume of the chain or the number of stores. In the survey, the largest percentage of retailers, 41.2%, said that sustainability is a “key component” of their strategy, and 38.6% said that sustainability is “important but not one of our top priorities.” Only 3% said “sustainability isn’t something we worry about.”

Why are the smaller-sized retailers slower to formalize their strategies? Is it simply that larger retailers have more resources to dedicate to the initiatives? Of those surveyed, only 13.9% of respondents — generally the larger-sized retailers — say that their sustainability strategies fall under the responsibility of an “energy management department,” whereas the majority of smaller retailers seem to parcel out the responsibilities to disparate groups, including facilities management, construction and finance.

Full disclosure: I'm the managing editor at Chain Store Age.

Polished cement gains ground as eco-friendly floorcovering

The U.S. Green Building Council has ruled that FGS/PermaShine's industrial/commercial Polished Concrete Floor System can be counted toward LEED certification. Naturally, the Permashine folks are very happy about that:

"We have known the FGS/PermaShine Process represents a very sustainable floor system and this new Credit Interpretation Ruling by the USGBC adds further credibility to our claim that polished concrete is green," said Greg Schwietz, president of L Construction Chemicals, which makes the FGS/PermaShine family of products.

According to Permashine, the concrete floor is shiny, thus reducing lighting needs, and it also captures and releases heat, reducing peak energy needs by keeping temperature level throughout the day. Might be a good option for home channel retailers trying to get LEED certification for their stores.

Green Depot opens new store in New York

Green Depot is opening a new location today, Aug. 28, out on the northeastern tip of Long Island (pictured above). With the currently under-construction store in Manhattan (due for completion this fall), that makes a total of six locations for the green home channel dealer to be open by the end of the year, up from four at the end of last year. A seventh location is planned for Albany, N.Y., in 2009.

The new unit, in Greenport, N.Y., features a showroom and design center. The opening ceremonies are being celebrated with festivities including local wine, hors d’ouvres, and a prize gift basket.

Emery-Waterhouse announces green initiatives

The building materials and hardlines distributor says that it is pushing a number of programs to save energy, cut costs, and decrease the damage it does to the environment. To save fuel, Emery-Waterhouse is reducing the top speed of its trucks from from 69 mph to 65 mph, checking tire pressure twice a day, and using software to make its routes as efficient as possible. According to a press release, "as a result of these initiatives, the company estimates it will save more than 23,000 gallons of fuel in 2008."

Also part of the company's plan: a green task force to identify areas for improvement, an expanded recycling program, and adding more green products and merchandising programs.

Based in Portland, Maine, Emery-Waterhouse reported annual wholesale sales of $142 million in 2007, placing the company 68th on Home Channel News' Top 150 Distributors Scoreboard.

Wal-Mart agrees to clean up its wood supply chain

From our sister publication, Retailing Today, here's a story on how Wal-Mart has partnered with the Global Forest and Trade Network to phase out illegal and unwanted wood sources from its supply chain, relying more heavily on certified chain-of-custody product. Money quote:

Within one year, Wal-Mart will complete an assessment of where its wood furniture is coming from and whether the wood is legal and well-managed. Once the assessment is completed, Wal-Mart has committed to eliminating wood from illegal and unknown sources within five years. The company will also eliminate wood from forests that are of critical importance due to their environmental, socio-economic, biodiversity or landscape values and that aren’t well-managed.

American building materials companies also partnering with the Global Forest and Trade Network include BlueLinx, Domtar, and Cryntel.

New bags from old

Mettler Packaging's new "everlasting bag" is a plastic bag that can be recycled to make more plastic bags. The idea is that retailers sell the bags for a small fee, and then replace them for free when customers bring in old ones. The bags are made of EcoLoop recycled plastic, and they can be themselves recycled back into EcoLoop.

Non-PVC line of retail store fixtures announced

Boston Retail, a company that makes fixtures, displays, wall protectors, and other products for retail stores, has announced a new ecoSeries line of PVC-free products. This is evidently a green version of the company's "Boston Bumper" product.