Apr 7, 2009

What green can mean for a retailer’s imageBy Dan KubalaRetailCustomerExperience.com

Retailers are facing multiple challenges in light of today’s tightening economy. Energy costs are skyrocketing, with commercial electricity prices rising more than 80 percent since 2000. Even so, today’s rates don’t fully reflect the recent cost increases for the underlying commodities (primarily coal and natural gas). Soon enough, however, utilities will have to pass on the cost burden to energy consumers — and with nearly 900,000 locations, U.S. chain retail stores are among the largest commercial consumers of electrical power.

Despite the economy, sustainability is still taking center stage in the retail industry — and it can be difficult to discern which initiatives lead to real sustainability and which are simply “greenwashing.” Consumers are demanding greener products and facilities, and investors are requiring corporations to document and report their carbon emissions — leading many retailers to highlight their green initiatives very publicly. At the same time, companies are hesitant to make green investments that take five years or longer to pay back — assuming they pay back at all.

For nearly all retailers, therefore, the most significant “low hanging fruit” for reducing energy costs across existing locations involves implementation of an enterprise-wide energy management system (EMS). The level of capital investment is relatively low, and payback for the best systems occurs in 18 to 24 months. Even better, these savings aren’t achieved at the expense of customer comfort — rather, enterprise-wide EMS will ensure your corporate standards are maintained across your chain.

While many retailers have started to understand the significance of EMS in saving on store-level energy costs and reducing their carbon footprint, many retailers often overlook the importance of communicating sustainability efforts to their customers in order to maximize the value of their energy management program. A sustained communication effort can reap significant on-going and incremental benefits year after year — both externally and internally.

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