RILA Environmental Sustainability & Compliance Conference Opens With Green Store Tours 

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) welcomed attendees to its second annual Environmental Sustainability & Compliance Conference (ESCC) today at the Embassy Suites in Dallas, Texas, with an educational and cutting edge tour of Wal-Mart’s high efficiency superstore and the first JCPenney store designed and registered to receive LEED certification.

The tours highlighted eco-friendly technologies that will serve as benchmarks in future design standards for land development and building construction.

“Today’s new store designs incorporate green technologies, which are one part of the retail industry’s commitment to the pursuit of a broad range of environmentally sustainable operating practices,” said Casey Chroust, RILA’s executive vice president of retail operations.

RILA’s 2009 Environmental Sustainability & Compliance Conference (ESCC) is the only sustainability conference designed and presented by retailers, for retailers. The conference brings together business leaders from across the retail spectrum to hear from their peers, share best practices, and learn the latest operational strategies for environmental sustainability and compliance.

The conference’s educational sessions are divided into five tracks: compliance, energy management, external communications, product stewardship, and water management. In-depth breakout sessions led by industry experts will cover topics such as procurement of green power, RCRA waste management, energy audits, sustainable water usage in operations, greenhouse gas legislation and product stewardship metrics.

“Leading retailers recognize the enormous potential that exists within the extended retail supply chain to affect positive environmental outcomes.  Retailers have invested in changes throughout the retail enterprise to develop eco-friendly and high efficiency stores, minimize packaging, responsibly manage waste, reduce fuel consumption and offer sustainable products to consumers,” said Chroust.  “This conference provides valuable information and innovative solutions to help retailers meet their environmental sustainability and compliance goals.”

RILA and its members actively pursue and promote environmental sustainability in numerous ways.  Since 2007, RILA has been working with leading retailers to advance the industry’s work in environmentally sustainable activities and responsible business practices. RILA played an integral role in the development of the EPA’s retail web portal.  The portal provides retailers access to information in one place to further advance their efforts to apply sustainable practices to their operations.  RILA also supports its retail membership within the environmental arena through research, benchmarking and advocacy of public policy.

RILA is a member of the EPA SmartWay Shipper Stakeholder Committee, which provides input to guide the development of the program.  SmartWay is an innovative collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the freight industry designed to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution.  RILA is a partner with EPA’s Energy Star and WasteWise programs. RILA recently announced a  partnership with the Coalition for Responsible Transportation (CRT) to expand efforts to reduce diesel emissions in and around our nation’s ports and participates other programs including: Water Source and Sustainable Skylines and DOE’s Retail Energy Alliance

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is the trade association of the world’s largest and most innovative retail companies. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and operate more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers domestically and abroad.

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