Companies you can trust are going green: Home Depot

If you are trying to direct your purchases towards companies going green, you might want to take a look at The Home Depot. Big-box stores don’t usually tend to make the lists of companies going green, but this retailer shows that any company, large or small, can improve their sustainability record.

It all started for The Home Depot in 1999 when the Rainforest Action Network called them out as the world’s largest seller of old-growth wood. After some very public demonstrations, The Home Depot committed to stop purchasing uncertified wood from endangered eco-regions and implemented a Wood Purchasing Policy to guide their purchases towards more sustainable choices. Today, 94% of their wood comes from North America where forest coverage has grown 1.5% over the past 15 years. As part of their strategy to protect endangered areas, they favor wood that has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

While old-growth forest destruction had been the focus of the public’s environmental concern, The Home Depot didn’t stop there because companies going green need to examine their businesses from top to bottom. In-store energy costs were one of the first things to be considered. Through changes in lighting and heating and cooling systems, they have been able to reduce energy consumption by 20% since 2004.

Even the parking lots aren’t immune to sustainability analysis. Parking lot lights are now turned off one hour after store closing and the landscaping has been modified to focus on local, hardy plants that can survive with minimal or no irrigation.

While The Home Depot has over 2,000 stores across North America, they also look at conservation on a local level. Sixty-two stores installed solar panels last year, while 21 stores in arid Florida are getting water-retention tanks. All concrete purchases are made locally which saves on greenhouse gas emissions resulting from transportation.

As the world’s largest home improvement retailer, The Home Depot also has the ability to influence the environmental choices of millions of customers. They introduced their Eco Options program to provide customers with thousands of easily identifiable eco-friendly products. In-store recycling programs allow consumers to recycle CFL light bulbs, lead acid batteries, and rechargeable batteries.

The Eco Options program was a first step towards determining if their suppliers were willing to join the ranks of companies going green. Now, The Home Depot is developing a Supplier Advisory Board to measure and track the sustainability of their suppliers. The transport of products to the stores is important as well, which has led them to seek out transport carriers that have received SmartWay certification from the Environmental Protection Agency.

While The Home Depot has made great strides, they continue to push the envelope for companies going green. Their 2015 goals include lowering energy use in stores by an additional 5% and removing 20% of greenhouse gas emissions from their supply chain by 2015.

Check out our most popular article on Going Green Facts!

Tags: Green Business

Category: Green Business