Earth and Industry » retail

Pep Boys to Pay $5 Million for Selling Polluting ATVs and Generators

Timothy B. Hurst — Tue, 11 May 2010 01:53:02 +0000

Manny, Moe and Jack will have $5 million less in the bank account after today's announcement from the Justice Department that the auto parts and service provider would be settling a civil claim for importing and selling Chinese-made motorcycles, recreational vehicles and generators that do not comply with environmental requirements.

The complaint--the largest vehicle and engine importation case brought by the United States to date under the Clean Air Act--alleges that Pep Boys and makers Baja imported and sold at least 241,000 illegal vehicles and engines from 2004 through 2009, machines that did not comply with the Clean Air Act emissions requirements.

"Importers of foreign made vehicles and engines must comply with the same Clean Air Act requirements that apply to those selling domestic products," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Pep Boys was the third-largest importer of Chinese-made ATVs in the U.S. in 2008; and in 2006 and 2007, the company was the fourth largest importer of generators.

According to the Justice Department, Pep Boys will both pay a civil penalty and offset the excess emissions from the vehicles and engines already sold, estimated at 620 tons of excess hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions and more than 6,520 tons of excess carbon monoxide emissions.

"Equipment imported into the United States that does not meet our pollution control rules is bad for human health and the environment, and unfair to those companies that play by the rules," said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

Pep Boys will have to export or destroy over 1,300 non-compliant vehicles and engines (although one might argue that allowing the units to be exported does nothing to reduce carbon emissions).

As part of the settlement, Pep Boys will also offer a free extended emission warranty on certain vehicle and engine models, reimburse consumers for emission-related repair expenses, and implement rigorous corporate compliance plans.

Pep Boys is a national automotive aftermarket and service chain with more than 580 stores in 35 states and Puerto Rico.

Sam’s Club Opens On-Site Micro-Wind Farm

Timothy B. Hurst — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:52:55 +0000

17 micro wind turbines now adorn the parking lot at a Sam's Club in Palmdale, California.

Anyone who has followed my writing with even a modicum of regularity knows that I kind of have a thing for wind turbines. It doesn't matter if they're giant wind turbines, floating wind turbines, micro-wind turbines or vertical axis wind turbines, if it spins and generates energy, I'm usually fascinated by it. And when it's part of a broad clean energy strategy undertaken by enormous private sector players like Walmart, I take special interest.

A Sam's Club store in Palmdale, California has become the first retailer in the country to install a mini-farm of micro-wind turbines on a parking lot. The 17 Skystream 3.7 micro wind-turbines will provide an estimated 76,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy annually (which is roughly enough to power for six average American homes for a year) or about 3%-5% of the store's energy needs.

The Palmdale site was selected for the pilot project among all of the Walmart-owned properties in the U.S. because of the excellent--and consistent--wind resource at the edge of the desert in southern California.

"We are thrilled to be the first to demonstrate micro wind turbines in a retail environment and pleased this project complements other wind and solar installations in California,” said Paul Stone, senior vice president, West Division, Sam’s Club.

The completion of this project bolsters the company’s renewable energy portfolio in California, including solar installations at 28 Walmart and Sam’s Club sites and fuel cell installations at two Walmart stores.

Sam's Club parent company, Walmart Stores, has a short-term goal of reducing carbon emissions across its supply chain and a long-term goal of being completely powered by renewable energy.

"We are optimistic that this exciting micro wind turbine project at the Palmdale Sam’s Club and another pilot location will be successful and that the micro turbines will be installed, operated and maintained while helping to lower our operating costs,” said Kim Saylors-Laster, vice president, Energy at Walmart . “With each new project we learn more that can be applied to help us achieve our goal to be supplied by renewable energy.”

Sam's is working with Massachusetts-based DeerPath Energy which provides turn-key micro-wind energy support, including the permitting, installation, finance and maintenance of micro-wind turbines. Similar installations are also planned for a new Walmart store in Worcester, Mass., as well as other locations moving forward.

Organic Potatoes at Safeway: You’re Doing It Wrong! (Pic)

Timothy B. Hurst — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:20:30 +0000

One of the principle reasons people cite for buying organic produce is that it is better for the environment. As it is grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides, organic produce creates fewer harmful byproducts that can wind up in the air, the groundwater and the fruits and vegetables we handle and ingest. That's why the sight of these Melissa's organic potatoes individually-wrapped in petroleum-based plastic wrap* really struck me as a serious marketing misstep. The people who are buying organic potatoes in the first place will also be the first ones to balk at this kind of over-done packaging that seems to miss the whole point.

*Melissa's said they would look into the composition of the shrink wrap with their distributor and get back to us. They have yet to get back to us. -Ed.

Target Opens Recycling Centers in All 1,740 Stores

Timothy B. Hurst — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:02:55 +0000

Minneapolis based Target (NYSE: TGT) announced Tuesday that it is rolling out a massive nationwide recycling initiative with centers at the front of each of its 1,740 U.S. stores. The recycling stations will accept aluminum, glass and plastic beverage containers, plastic bags, MP3 players, cell phones and ink cartridges.

"The launch of store recycling stations allows us to continue to partner with [our guests] to curb unnecessary waste in our stores and our communities," said Shawn Gensch, vice president of brand marketing, Target.

Over the course of the last several months, retail chain Target has ramped up its sustainability programs and image, partially in response to retail giant Walmart's big push to become more sustainable, which includes programs to green its supply chain, use less energy and produce less waste.

But Target isn't just copying the sustainability programs their friends down in Bentonville, Arkansas are rolling out (though they should probably copy some of them), they're forging their own path with some unique programs of their own, recently announcing they would no longer sell farmed salmon.

And whether they would admit to it or not, the Target recycling move puts a bit of pressure back on Walmart to up the ante, thereby contributing to a kind of 'race to the top' -- at least until the term was commandeered by the Obama administration.

It's also worth mentioning that Target is giving away 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, as part of its month-long Earth Day celebration. You can enter to win online or by texting the word "green" to 827438 (Target).

[In the spirit of full disclosure, Earth & Industry received no compensation for any component of this article. We just thought it'd be cool if you won a car, unless we win it first. -Ed.]

Photo credit: sciondriver via flickr/Creative Commons

Best Buy Joins Coalition of Unwilling, Puts Pressure on Chamber of Commerce over Climate

Timothy B. Hurst — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:15:40 +0000

Unhappiness with Chamber's stance on climate not enough to quit group

It's no secret that The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been battling tooth and nail against climate policy on Capitol Hill, and in particular, against any cap-and-trade legislation. But the strong opposition to aggressive action on climate change and the millions of dollars the Chamber has spent on lobbying against action on climate has several companies questioning their desire to be associated with the umbrella business organization's controversial position.

But while several large corporations including Apple, PG&E have acted on those desires and parted ways with the Chamber over the climate issue, there is also a bloc of companies who are hanging on by a thread. Last week, Best Buy joined companies like Toyota and Nike who have publicly struggled with their support for the Chamber because of their stance on climate, but have yet to find enough cause to leave the massive trade group. Best Buy said in a statement:

"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a membership organization with varied business stakeholders and interests. Those interests among industry don’t always align; on the issue of climate change legislation and regulatory actions, we have certainly seen this to be the case. Best Buy has stated that we are supportive of comprehensive climate change legislation and working to move toward a low carbon economy. With regard to the Chamber’s climate initiatives, the Chamber has not spoken for Best Buy on these issues. We have shared our views with the Chamber and will continue to do so."

The move from Best Buy came after a group of 43 investors sent a letter to the company pressuring it to publicly distance itself from the Chamber several weeks ago and is the latest of several similar actions initiated by groups of powerful investors who favor strong climate and energy policy.

Photo: angela n. via flickr/Creative Commons

Walmart Expands Green Reach to Small Businesses

Timothy B. Hurst — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:46:01 +0000

Solar at Sam's. Photo: Re-Nest.

Moving beyond their own supply chains, Walmart and Sam's Club are trying to help small businesses think about sustainability

An estimated 600,000 small-business owners or their employees walk through the doors of Sam’s Club every day. As part of parent company Walmart's relatively recent "conversion" to more sustainable business practices, officials at the company saw an opportunity to help green businesses besides their own—and in particular those very small businesses that frequent Sam's club—in a series of articles designed to help small-business owners succeed.

Contributing the first article (pdf) in the series, was Catherine Corley, Vice President of Small Business Insights at Sam’s Club. In the article, "How to Be Green and Stay Lean", Corley discusses how small businesses can implement sustainable practices that also benefit a company's bottom line. Specifically, Corley explores the definition of green, how to develop sustainability strategies and action plans as well as the dangers of greenwashing.

Corley starts out by defining green businesses and gives steps that owners should take to ensure that consumers know a company is sincere. She writes that businesses can increase their bottom line by creating interest in their sustainable initiatives and developing loyalty as a result of that interest and credibility as a result of that loyalty. But she also admits that this can be much easier for large companies with marketing budgets and generally more resources.

“Small-business owners are navigating through the complications of trying to run a socially responsible business on limited budgets,” said Corley, who recently spoke on the topic of greening business at a conference in California. Corley writes that small-business owners can combat this problem by setting goals, starting small and acting authentically.

Ultimately, protecting and growing the bottom line of the small businesses that shop at your store is just good business practices, because you hope that customer will come back for more. But charges of greenwashing can be incredibly damaging to a brand and to the long-term success of any business, large or small. Walmart Stores, Inc. seems to get that on some level — and they seem to think that helping other companies get it is also just good business practice.

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Image via Re-Nest

Wal-Mart Discusses Plans for Global Product Sustainability Index

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:16:35 +0000

Wal-Mart president and CEO Mike Duke at 2009 Sustainability Milestone meeting

Earlier this week, sustainable business journalist and blogger Marc Gunther broke the news that Wal-Mart would "unveil plans to measure the sustainability of every product it sells." During its Sustainability Milestone meeting yesterday in Bentonville (which was also webcasted), president and CEO Mike Duke outlined the plans for the new index. Turns out that the company's plans are even more audacious than expected: Wal-Mart plans for a sustainability index will not only bring together universities, NGOs, and the company's suppliers, but will also reach out to the larger retailing industry. The eventual goal: an open, shared database that will ultimately provide the means of communicating substantive information to consumers about the sustainability and lifecycles of the products they purchase.

Duke laid out a three-step, five-year process for the development of the index:

A survey of Wal-Mart suppliers on their efforts related to energy & climate, materials efficiency, natural resources, and people and the community.
The creation of a sustainability consortium consisting of universities, NGOs, retailers, suppliers, and government.
The translation of the information gathered and analyzed by the consortium into "a simple tool that informs consumers about the sustainability of products"

There's no doubt that this is a huge undertaking, with a number of intrinsic hurdles. Following yesterday's meeting, several bloggers, writers and journalists (including Andrew Winston, Joel Makower, Ariel Schwartz, and myself) joined a call with senior vice president of sustainability Matt Kistler. Among the additional details revealed during that call:

Wal-Mart is already discussing the development of the index with competitors: a representative of Best Buy was at yesterday's meeting, and the company has discussed the concept at meetings of the grocery industry.
The goal of transparency will certainly run up against intellectual property concerns. Wal-Mart and consortium members don't have an solution to this conflict yet, but it's part of the discussion with suppliers as they complete the 15-question survey.
While plans for the index don't necessarily include supplier rankings on sustainability criteria, the information gathered during the process of assessing product sustainability could prove a "tie-breaker" for the company as it decides on the suppliers from which it will continue to buy.
Wal-Mart is spearheading this effort and providing initial funding; it does not plan to (or want to) "own" the index. While Kistler wouldn't name any potential owners, he did note that the company had discussed this issue with some NGOs and universities.

It's a bold plan, no doubt. There's also no doubt that there are issues that will arise from the start: a few partners of the consortium, for instance, will immediately raise some hackles (I won't name names... take a look, and you'll see what I mean). Gunther notes that some potential university partners are struggling with the nature of such research:

...[does] measuring the environmental impact of, say, a flat-screen TV qualifies as academic research and what it means for businesses including Wal-Mart to pay for the effort. One academic, who's enthusiastic about the idea of an index, told me he's getting questions like these from colleagues: "Are we getting hoodwinked into being a corporate shill? How can we defend this as academically legitimate research?"

Those are questions that will undoubtedly be asked, and answered, and asked again as the process moves forward. One thing's very clear: Wal-Mart's changed dramatically over the past five years from a company famous for lashing out at criticism to one that's inviting critics to take a closer look. That's significant... we'll need to make sure to accept that invitation regularly.