RILA Report: Sustainability 

Volume 4, Issue 5

Volume 4, Issue 4

Volume 4, Issue 3

Volume 4, Issue 2

Volume 4, Issue 1

Volume 3, Issue 5

Volume 3, Issue 4

Volume 3, Issue 3

Volume 3, Issue 2

Meet one of the newest members of Walmart's sustainability leadership team, Fred Bedore. Fred is the senior director of sustainability at Walmart and RSI's incoming chair. He shares insight into Walmart's long-term sustainability strategy as well as his own personal and professional background.

Lisa Davis of IKEA sits down with RILA to share how she works to spread sustainability awareness at IKEA, where she feels the industry will be in the next five to ten years, and her weekly dedication to skate dancing!

The idea of responsible business is far from new. But since the 1990s, increasing concern over the impacts of economic globalization has led to new demands for corporations to play a central role. Within this social compliance arena there continues to be an evolution in methodologies. Over the past 20 years the social compliance audit was the driving force behind monitoring factories. Companies are now seeing the need for multiple strategies and tools that maximize supplier improvements and operational efficiencies.

In the last several months, RILA has been developing a dialogue with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); specifically its applicability to consumer products. RILA Environmental Compliance Committee members met at the Retail Sustainability Conference in October to solidify our stance on eight key items. The committee’s objective is to open conversation around these eight items to educate EPA and understand their concerns.

As part of the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council’s (GC3) newly redesigned website, retailers now may access a brand new Retailer Portal: Tools to Evaluate Chemical Ingredients in Products. The GC3 is a business-to-business forum that advances the application of green chemistry and design. The GC3 forum provides for cross-sectorial collaboration and sharing of information and best practices regarding the challenges to and opportunities for safer chemicals and products.

For most retailers, the sustainability journey begins on the operations side of the business – with a focus on what they can directly control - the environmental footprint of stores, distribution centers, and logistics – and covering a range of eco-efficiency issues including energy, waste and water. And this makes perfect sense as the place to start. However, for most retailers the footprint of their operations is a relatively small slice of the overall footprint – 10-20 percent.

Today’s consumer markets require companies to evaluate their chemical processes and look for greener alternatives. Consumer preferences for healthy and green or “natural” products are driving companies to reduce or eliminate the use of many chemicals. Regulations such as state and local bans on bis-phenol A (BPA) and other chemicals cause companies to carefully examine their processes so they are not surprised by sudden loss of markets. These market forces are felt throughout the supply chain.

RILA is pleased to announce that the Coalition for Responsible Transportation’s (CRT) Executive Director, James Jack, has recently been named as a recipient of one of the inaugural U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWay Champion Awards.

Over the past few months and with significant support from RILA members and our partners at the state retail associations, RILA has increased eFairness efforts at the federal level while continuing to push legislation in priority states throughout the country. Federal legislation was introduced in the House a few weeks ago and in the Senate last week, both with a broad bipartisan list of cosponsors. This legislation is intended to close the unfair loophole that online-only and out of state retailers have been taking advantage of for years at the expense of Main Street businesses and the countless jobs they provide.

December 2011 - With the busy holiday season upon us, RILA’s Retail Sustainability Initiative (RSI) has not missed a beat helping our members to green the industry’s operations.

August 2011 - As the peak summer months are upon us, RILA’s Retail Sustainability Initiative (RSI) members have been working to develop materials and kick off projects for the retail sustainability community.

April 2011 - We began the Retail Sustainability Initiative's (RSI) year with an in-person meeting. Forty of our most active retailers gathered in Washington to become acquainted with each other and set our direction for 2011.

February 2011 - In a number of my conversations with retailers, a consistent theme emerged around the most important skills for effective sustainability professionals: leadership skills.

December 2010 - As 2010 is coming to a close, I hope you have some time to look back on the last year and acknowledge all of the progress you have made advancing sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and compliance positions in your organization.

November 2010 - Since I began at RILA two months ago, I've had the opportunity to meet many of our retail members.

If you’re like me, you attend a lot of sustainability conferences. As we are on a path of continuous learning and the field is evolving ever more rapidly, it’s necessary to stay on top of the issues, hear from sustainability leaders, and network with peers.