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By RUSSELL RAY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 27, 2008

As retailers experiment with grand ideas to help the environment and conserve energy, they have discovered a simpler and perhaps more practical solution: use less power and cut down on waste.

The savings have been enormous for big retailers such as Publix Super Markets and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., who need large amounts of electricity and gasoline to keep their checkout lines moving and delivery trucks rolling.

Many retail companies with long-established energy-saving programs are beefing up efforts in response to soaring fuel costs and increased pressure from the public to do something about global warming.

"People are asking about it," Publix spokeswoman Shannon Patten said.

Retailers also are demanding from suppliers products that are better for the environment and a reduction in the packaging they come in. Cutting the amount of paper and plastic used in product packaging can lead to significant savings, said Scot Case, vice president of environmental marketing firm TerraChoice.

Wal-Mart, for example, reduced transportation costs after requiring toy suppliers to reduce packaging, Case said.

"By reducing the amount of packaging, they have saved $3.5 million in transportation costs because they can fit more on a truck or ship," Case said.

Absorbing the increased cost of energy while maintaining competitive prices is the challenge all retailers face.
Retail companies are experimenting with a variety of energy-saving techniques, from using chicken fat to generate electricity to new lighting fixtures for freezers. But looking environmentally friendly is just as important as being environmentally friendly.

From a retailer's perspective, lower energy bills are just one of the benefits of going green. Recognizing the profit potential, retailers are promoting their green activities to lure environmentally conscious customers and investors.

Guilty Of 'Greenwashing'

Consumers, though, should think carefully before buying a product based on environmental claims. Many of the products sold by big-box retailers don't live up to the environmental claims of their makers, Case said.

Case's company examined more than 1,000 products from six big-box retailers and found that nearly every product was guilty of "greenwashing" - making environmental claims that are false or misleading. Case wouldn't name the six, but he did say they are well-known companies.

"If you are like 95 percent of the people in this country, you have shopped at most of them," he said.

Case offered this advice for environmentally conscious customers: "If you do not clearly understand why this product is considered green, it's probably just greenwashing."

The Publix 'Routine'

Cutting energy consumption seems to be paying off for Publix, a Lakeland-based supermarket chain with 926 locations in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.

Since implementing its "Green Routine" program, an integrated approach to conserving energy, in 2001, Publix has cut its electricity consumption by 643 million kilowatt hours, enough energy to power about 44,000 Florida homes for a year.

"The program has helped us reduce companywide electricity usage by 7 percent in existing stores," Patten said. "We've incorporated the latest fluorescent technologies in our new store designs, with up to a 50 percent lighting energy savings over stores with older designs."

The reduced usage was achieved in part by doing the simple things, Patten said, such as turning off lights when leaving a room or shutting the cooler door.

"We have reminders all over the place about getting into a green routine," she said. "The reason we designed this program was to encourage environmentally responsible habits that our associates can use at work and at home."

In new Publix stores, milk is kept behind glass doors instead of an open cooler as in the company's older stores. It's a simple but effective energy-saving step that will be incorporated in every Publix, the company said.

Publix and other retailers have gone so far as to remove the light bulbs in vending machines in the back of their stores and at their corporate headquarters.

"We've been doing that for over 10 years," Patten said.

She said the company's efforts have cut greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of climate change, by more than 300,000 tons. As a comparison, Tampa Electric's Big Bend power plant in 2006 emitted 11.7 million tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

That includes 2,500 tons from maximizing the fuel efficiency of their delivery trucks and cutting the number of miles traveled by each truck. As a result, Publix truck drivers are driving 28,000 fewer miles a week than they were two years ago.

But Publix's green effort goes beyond energy conservation. The program also focuses heavily on recycling and reduced packaging.

Last year, Publix recycled more than 209,000 tons of cardboard and more than 7,000 tons of plastic, Patten said.

Wal-Mart's High-Efficiency Stores

Retail giant Wal-Mart, one of the world's largest purchasers of energy, plans to cut the energy consumption of its 4,000 supercenters by 30 percent in four years.

"A typical store we build today is already more energy efficient than most any other retail big box in the industry," Wal-Mart spokesman Michael Mills said.

For example, the company uses compact fluorescent light bulbs in the ceiling fan and overhead light displays at all of its stores. A compact fluorescent bulb converts 25 percent of the electricity it consumes into light; an ordinary bulb converts just 5 percent.

"Just by doing that, we will save $7 million a year," Mills said.

Wal-Mart also is working to double the fuel efficiency of its fleet of trucks over the next decade through improvements in tractor-trailer designs.

"If we cut our gas use in half, it's going to save us $300 million a year," Mills said.

Wal-Mart easily met its pledge to sell 100 million compact fluorescent bulbs in 2007.

"We did that in about eight months," Mills said. "Sure, it costs a little more, but that light bulb is 75 percent more efficient than the typical light bulb."

Wal-Mart's ambitious plan to help the environment includes the use of more solar power and even changing the flooring in stores. The white tile floors in most Wal-Marts require a lot of chemicals and buffing to clean.

"It's time intensive, and it's bad for the environment," Mills said.

Through testing, the company found that a glazed concrete floor requires less maintenance and is better for the environment.

"It looks good, and it just needs soap and water to clean," he said.

Wal-Mart has heavily touted its high-efficiency stores, equipped with waterless urinals and state-of-the-art air-conditioning and refrigeration systems.

Last week in Romeoville, Ill., Wal-Mart opened what it calls a second-generation high-efficiency store, an HE2, a step above the high-efficiency stores Wal-Mart has already built. The HE2 uses 25 percent less energy than a typical supercenter. The store is equipped with environmentally friendly technologies that were tested at experimental stores in Texas and Colorado.

"We see sustainability for us as the triple-bottom line," Mills said. "It's good for our customers. It's good for our financial, and it's good for the environment."

BY THE NUMBERS

643 million - Kilowatt hours saved by Publix since launching its "Green Routine" program in 2001

209,000 - Tons of cardboard recycled by Publix in 2007

28,000 - Reduction of miles driven each week by Publix truck drivers the past two years

100 million -Compact fluorescent light bulbs sold by Wal-Mart in 2007

$300 million - What Wal-Mart would save each year if it accomplishes its plan to double the fuel efficiency of its trucks

Sources: Publix Super Markets; Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

6 SINS OF 'GREENWASHING'

TerraChoice, an environmental marketing firm based in Ottawa, examined 1,018 products from six big-box retailers and found that nearly every product was guilty of at least one of what it calls the six sins of greenwashing, the act of misleading consumers about the environmental benefits of a product or service. The sins are:

1. The hidden trade-off: Emphasizing one environmental benefit while hiding the negative environmental impacts of things such as manufacturing and transportation of the product.

2. No proof: Providing no evidence or certification of its claim.

3. Vagueness: An unexplained claim or term such as "Earth-friendly" or "all-natural."

4. Irrelevance: Making a claim that can apply to all products in its category. If every product can make the same claim, the claim is irrelevant.

5. Fibbing: Making a "certified" claim without the proper certification.

6. The lesser of two evils: Trying to make consumers feel good about a product that offers few environmental benefits. For example, it may be more effective to use fewer lawn chemicals than turning to greener alternatives.

Source: TerraChoice

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray@tampatrib.com.

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