Canadian Retailer - Fall 2014 - 26

myStoRE retailer'S Guide vol. 10.5: SuStAinAbility

mEASuRE SuccESS

Green retailing demands an investment of time and money. There is no way around it. But the pay-offs can make
the efforts profitable. The key is to measure the inputs and outputs to gauge success.
 Establish baselines. Catalogue
the store's expenses and waste on
a weekly basis going back several
months. Get a sense of the averages
and the times of peak-spending.
Identify baselines for energy usage
(how many kilowatt hours?), hours
worked, waste produced. List costs
associated with transportation,
heating, waste disposal, hydro,
labour associated with managing
the store's footprint. What are the
baselines for each category? How do
these costs break down as a percentage of sales? By square-footage?

 Track costs. Once retailers have set
costs, they can begin measuring the
success of their efforts by tracking
costs. Retailers will have more agility if they measure costs at a more
microscopic level-by measuring
costs by days or weeks rather than
months and quarters. For retailers who don't track costs in such a
detailed way, the switch-over can be
arduous. In the long run, baselines
and cost-tracking will give retailers
a better sense of where they can
find savings and where opportunity
exists for improvements.

 Set targets. Once retailers have
baseline costs associated with the
store's footprint, they can begin to
set targets for lowering operating
expenses and the associated waste.
By setting targets-by giving
themselves goals-retailers can engineer profitable change. It might
begin by cutting costs by mere
percentage points, or by saving in
one area to invest in sustainability
in another.

 Create a Code of Conduct. A code for how
a retailer conducts itself with regards to
the environment can have a huge positive
impact for the retailer and the environment.
A code provides focus and direction for
operational changes. A sampling of codes
suggested by eco-agencies and businesses
that post theirs online suggest three areas
deserving of inclusion in a code: environment, community and sourcing. What kind
of an effect does the retailer want to have
on the local and global environment? What
kind of a commitment to the local community has the retailer assigned itself? In what
ways will the retailer conduct itself as it
relates to sourcing products?

 Reduce waste produced in the store.
Step back and look for obvious places of
waste in the store. Are the appliances in
the store energy efficient? Are the store's
toilets and sinks water efficient? Can you
insulate windows in the winter? Next,
look at what kind of garbage goes out the
door? How much of it is wasted product?
Can the store modify purchasing habits to
reduce the amount of product that expires?
How much packaging does the store have
to throw out and how much can the store
reduce waste by altering delivery dates?
Does the landlord recycle and how much
more can the store divert from landfills
into recycling depots?

Streamline operations

 Consolidate shipments and reduce
transportation costs. Look for ways to
reduce the number of shipments to the
store by modifying delivery schedules and
changing the way the store manages stock.
This might mean putting more product
on the shelves, if the store has the room
and budget, and if fuller shelves can lower
transportation costs. Another way to lower
transportation costs is to purchase locally
produced goods. While this change might
not work for every retailer, for many the
trade-off in lower transportation costs
might offset whatever increase retailers
will see in locally produced product. And
retailers can also cash-in on the cache that
comes with selling local goods.

One of the easiest ways for retailers to profit
from sustainability efforts is to streamline
operations. It saves the company money and
reduces waste.
 Find ROI in energy efficiency. Energy efficiency efforts deliver one of the quickest
returns on investment when it comes to
greening a store. Most retailers have completed switchovers to more efficient lighting systems, and if they haven't, they're
behind. The good news with energy
efficient lighting, however, is that most of
the risk has already been taken out of the
system. Retailers who haven't switched
over to LED can expect a modest upfront
investment and a short payback.
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cANADIAN REtAILER | fall 2014

Canadian Retailer - Fall 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Fall 2014