In This Chapter
If you are a retail business, you can create a more environmentally friendly shop to attract customers interested in supporting environmental initiatives. You can also inform others about the importance of your decision to adopt these innovations. As a retailer, you’re the connecting point between manufacturer and consumer, and as such, you play an integral role in helping change the shape of consumerism and the habits of consumers.
To ensure staff and shoppers enjoy a pleasant and healthy indoor environment, beyond focusing on lighting, temperature, and sounds, put an emphasis on providing healthy air quality. Everyone will appreciate it. Keeping an indoor environment pollutant-free involves various factors, from the quality of the building’s airflow equipment to the type of paint on the walls.
Set up the shop with adequate and well-maintained heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, and investigate efficient appliances when it’s time to replace any items.
When selecting paints, furnishings, and cleaning products, evaluate each for its particular effect on air quality. Give preference to those that offer eco-friendly attributes, and avoid products that emit undesirable odors and fumes. Read the content information to determine which products are made with low or no volatile organic compounds (VOC).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides other tips for promoting healthy indoor air quality as follows:
Don’t block air vents with furniture, boxes, or other items.
Avoid using solvents, adhesives, and other materials that may emit bothersome odors or contaminants.
Toss out garbage promptly.
When decorating or remodeling, think about alternatives to furniture, flooring, and supplies that emit pollutants. Generally, odors and emissions are highest when furniture and building materials are new.
The EPA suggests, “Ask the designers, suppliers, and manufacturers to provide information on chemical emissions from products and any potential associated respiratory hazards. While emissions information may not yet be available for many products, many product manufacturers are starting to do emissions testing. The more consumers request such information, the sooner it will become widely available.”
Going Green
For detailed information on achieving healthy indoor air quality, take advantage of the EPA’s various free resources. The Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Information Clearinghouse phone number is 1-800-438-4318. For the selection of free publications, log on to www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs.
Another resource related to healthy indoor environments is “Building Air Quality, A Guide for Building Owners and Facility Managers.” That information, provided by the EPA and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), is available online (see Appendix B).
Incorporating environmentally responsible practices into a business often offers the extra advantage of reducing expenses. Before automatically replenishing supplies, determine if they’re absolutely necessary. Avoiding excess helps maintain an uncluttered shop while reducing expenses. By demanding less stuff, you’re reducing the amount of environmental impact related to manufacturing, transporting, and discarding.
Be creative. Take advantage of the eco-preferable principle of reusing and repurposing items. Rather than purchasing standard display racks, think of innovative and interesting ways to use old furniture or pieces from thrift stores to showcase your merchandise and create point-of-purchase displays. The effort will be visually distinctive and delightful to eco-savvy shoppers. Also you can scratch that purchase from the budget and put discards to good use.
Eliminating excess of all sorts is a key aspect of an environmentally responsible approach to business. It also saves money.
Just as we have advised for all small businesses in this book, you should look at all facets of your venture with a fresh set of eyes. It’s likely you’ll be able to reduce waste in various areas—from office supplies to store furnishings to the bags shoppers need to cart home their purchases.
Reducing waste also is accomplished through various techniques and approaches. In enhancing the green attributes of your retail store, it’s wise to think about that useful trio: reducing, reusing, and recycling. Reduce the amount of new materials acquired, reuse items already available, and responsibly recycle items not needed.
Some efforts at reducing waste are delightfully simple. For example, skip the printing press and ask shoppers to register for online newsletters. Sending out ads and other store information via e-mail rather than the postal service saves tons of paper—along with printing and postage costs.
Another simple approach is to reuse items rather than toss them out. For example, after opening a package, save the packing filler and recycle it in your outgoing mail.
Using products more than once provides various benefits. In addition to the environmental perks of source reduction and waste reduction, potential economic advantages exist for the business.
A retail store should recycle its own used products. However, plenty of businesses are also approaching recycling in another way by promoting themselves as a convenient drop-off point for items such as computers and portable phones. Offering to serve as a recycling center is a marketing opportunity that showcases a store’s environmental responsibility and draws foot traffic.
Other efforts at reducing waste may involve some design innovation and an initial investment, but they’re likely well worth it. You might retailor your packaging to be more environmentally friendly, as discussed in Chapter 13, or establish a paperless program for customer feedback.
For office supplies, furnishings, and other items you no longer need or want, look for a school or an organization that might want them. Or recycle through a public or private materials exchange or other practical and convenient trading service available in different regions.
The Alaska Materials Exchange, for example, is a free online service for businesses and organizations wanting to offer and acquire materials. Among the categories are computers and electronics, paints, paper products, office supplies, and furniture (see Appendix B).
Its counterpart on the other side of the country, the Vermont Business Materials Exchange, is also free. In 2007, approximately 57,600 items (weighing approximately 1,000 tons) were traded through this service (see Appendix B).
Some businesses, such as the Pizza Fusion restaurant chain, incorporate waste reduction and other aspects of sustainability into their basic practices and marketing. In fact, waste reduction is a facet of the stores’ physical design. Countertops are made from recycled detergent jugs, and floor tiles are fabricated with discarded glass bottles saved from older stores. Water also is a focus at this business—for example, wastewater from the sinks is recycled to the toilets. For a detailed description of Pizza Fusion’s sustainability plan, see Appendix B.
Reusable bags are good for the environment—as long as they’re responsibly manufactured and used. Many bags are made from recycled plastic, which is better than nonrecycled plastic. For additional eco-friendly options, choose bags made from fabric such as hemp, kenaf, or cotton—preferably organic.
The quality of the bag is an important factor, according to the online business resuablebags.com. If they’re given out in abundance and are of a cheaper, less-appealing quality, they’re going to pile up and be discarded, defeating the key purpose of waste reduction.
Hazard
In coastal clean-up projects, plastic bags are among the most common types of debris collected, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.
Some factors to consider when looking at various types of reusable shopping bags include durability, safe and nontoxic materials, and whether fair labor and trade standards were adhered to in the manufacturing process.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency offers a reusable packaging transport directory with an array of resources for different types of shipping and storing packaging and equipment.
The directory also includes tips for businesses who are venturing into reusable transport packaging products. Among these is to ask for suggestions from the various workers and suppliers who handle packaging. “Encourage everyone, including forklift and truck drivers, custodial staff and the boss, to put their ideas into suggestion boxes,” the guidelines suggest.
The guidelines state, “Reduced and reusable transport packaging does more than protect and move products with less cost and waste. For many companies, it is improving relationships and communication in the warehouse, on the sales or assembly floor, on the road, with vendors and with the community.”
For more tips from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency related to reusable transport package, see Appendix B.
Energy and water efficiency are essential facets of establishing an environmentally responsible retail business. As in other aspects of going green, the more standard electrical power and water you save, the more money you save.
Simple efforts, such as manually turning off lights and appliances, are helpful, but some businesses take additional measures, such as investing in energy-efficient equipment. Pearl Pressman Liberty, a commercial print facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, upgraded its lighting equipment and now saves more than $21,000 a year, according to the EPA, who also states the amount of energy saved is equivalent to removing 28 cars from highways. The firm switched its lighting fixtures to flores-cent and compact florescent bulbs.
The EPA also acknowledges Hand Motors, an auto dealership in Vermont, for using familiar and unconventional approaches to energy efficiency. Among the business’s more typical projects were upgrading lighting fixtures and using products that meet the Energy Star efficiency standards. The shop also installed timers and motion detectors, including the vending machines, to automatically turn lights on and off.
In another energy-saving effort, Hand Motors uses motor oil waste and vegetable oil to heat the service shop, which saves the business more than $15,000 a year in heating oil, the EPA states.
While vegetable oil will only be appropriate and efficient for a small number of small businesses, check out Chapter 7 and www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=heat_cool for other ways you can be more energy efficient with your heating, cooling, and ventilation.
Enhancing water efficiency involves a focus on products (such as water-saving plumbing fixtures) and practices (such as repairing leaks). Among trendy products designed to waste less water is the dual-flush toilet, which enables the user to select either a full-tank flush or a half-tank flush.
For those who don’t want the expense and hassle of installing new toilets, consider revising standard toilets so they feature dual-flush efficiency. A retrofit valve kit, Flush Choice, is designed to do just that and reduces water waste substantially. The product, sold by retailers and plumbing businesses, is installed in the toilet tank. The user turns the handle to the right for a full-tank flush and to the left for a half-tank flush (see Appendix B).
A dual-flush toilet.
(Courtesy Aqua Save Products, Inc.)
For retailers, water conservation tips from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection include the following:
Wash business vehicles less often and in a facility that uses recycled water.
If dressing up a storefront with landscaping, use native plants that do well with natural climate and don’t require as much watering.
Install only decorative water features that recycle water, and promote that aspect with signs stating that the water is recycled.
For additional information on techniques to improve water and energy efficiency, check out various resources from the EPA available at www.epa.gov/energy/energy.html and www.epa.gov/watersense.
Reduce vehicle travel when possible. For meetings with suppliers, colleagues, and other business partners, try holding a phone conference. When meetings outside the store are required, offer co-workers an incentive to carpool.
For retailers adding to a fleet of store-owned vehicles, take advantage of the automotive industry’s fuel-efficient vehicles, such as electric hybrids. Organize delivery schedules to capitalize on each area to reduce travel time and cost.
We offer many ideas for cutting down on delivery costs through packaging and utilizing fuel-efficient vehicles or shipping services. See Chapter 14 for ideas on moving your product to consumers.
Place your retail shop, if possible, in an area that’s appealing to pedestrians and bikers. Offer safe bicycle parking facilities and perhaps refreshing beverages to attract those who are thirsty from tooling around town on two pedals or two feet.
If the access to your store isn’t particularly designed for bikes and pedestrians, work with area government agencies and other businesses in the neighborhood to add safe bikeways, pedestrian paths, and other appealing amenities for the nonmotoring customers.
Going Green
The city of Oakland, California, encourages shoppers and employees to use their bicycles with facilities and amenities geared specifically for them. The city used grants for its CityRacks Bicycle Parking Program and added more than 900 bike racks and lockers in commercial districts of the city.
Along with simply selling products, many retailers promote the benefits and approaches to sustainability by giving out information specifically related to the store’s green practices and products. Other retailers offer information that focuses on broader environmental topics. Positioning your business as a reliable source of information for customers to learn from can help increase your credibility, the traffic to your website, and your stature in your field.
REI, a retailer that sells outdoor apparel and equipment, uses a specific label (the ecoSensitive label) to showcase products with sustainable attributes. Among those is apparel made with substantial amounts of recycled content, organic fibers, or easily replenished resources.
Going Green
The businesses that produce store fixtures and display pieces for the retail market are accommodating the retailers’ demands for eco-friendly materials and practices. For example, Barr Display, which sells custom pieces to retail stores, offers a selection of tables, rounders, and other furniture made from reclaimed wood.
The retailer’s ecoSensitive program also provides customers with additional information about advantages and drawbacks of the particular materials, which include organic cotton, bamboo fabric, hemp, and recycled plastic bottles.
The federal government’s Energy Star program offers an array of free downloadable materials that businesses are welcome to distribute (see Appendix B).
With so much emphasis on green lifestyles, the demand for products with environmentally preferable features is strong. You should meet that demand and incorporate green products in your inventory.
Incorporating sustainable products and practices in a retail shop often provides the added bonus of financial savings.
Offering green products and adhering to environmentally responsible practices appeals to eco-minded shoppers who want to support merchants who adhere to the same principles.
The sustainable attributes of a retail shop offer potential for marketing and promotional themes.
Many resources are available to help retailers green their businesses.