Macy’s Sets New Sustainability Goals

by | Jul 24, 2014

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Macy’s will collaborate with Volta Industries to install 17 new free-to-operate electric vehicle charging stations outside eight Macy’s stores in the Los Angeles area by late fall 2014, says the retailer, which has reported a series of new initiatives in its multi-year strategic program to enhance environmental sustainability.

This installation will bring to 33 the number of EV charging stations available to customers at Macy’s store locations in southern California. In 2011, Macy’s became the first major department store to pilot the use of EV charging stations when it forged an agreement to install 16 charging stations outside five Macy’s stores and one Bloomingdale’s store in the San Diego area, which are currently being operated as part of the Blink Network.

Sustainability results through 2013 include a 38 percent reduction in the company’s electricity usage since 2002 and a 95 percent adoption rate of recycled or certified paper used in the company’s marketing materials, Macy’s says.

Additional new sustainability initiatives for 2014 include:

  • Install additional energy-saving LED light bulbs in stores nationwide. The company has already installed more than 1.1 million LED bulbs in more than 800 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores across America, cutting energy consumption used in lighting by up to 73 percent compared with conventional bulbs replaced. In 2014, LED technology is being extended to begin replacing fluorescent fixtures in-store locations.
  • Plan and develop 20 additional solar power arrays to be installed on the roofs of stores and distribution centers in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and other states in 2014 and 2015. At year-end 2013, solar energy was being generated on 55 active installations at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s facilities.
  • Macy’s Private Brands, the company’s product development organization, has joined the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.
  • Reduce waste in the merchandise supply chain by standardizing the size of packing cartons, incorporating recycled polyester fibers in many woven garment labels, minimizing packaging materials and adopting paper hangtags made from FSC-certified paper. Work on packaging reduction is being researched and piloted in Macy’s Private Brands, with plans to collaborate with market merchandise vendors in the months ahead.
  • Set new and higher goals to increase customer adoption of electronic (paperless) billing statements and electronic bill payment. In 2013 alone, nearly 18 percent of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s customers opted for paperless statements, saving about 745,000 pounds of paper.
  • Drive adoption of digital receipts, which are available in all Macy’s stores nationwide. In 2013, about 6 percent of all store transactions were paperless.

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