More and more brands are stepping up to reduce their carbon footprint, including retail giants like Apple and Amazon. Best Buy announced June 19 that after reducing its carbon emissions by more than 50 percent, it would further this goal by helping its consumers reduce their carbon footprint. Best Buy set a goal of reducing consumer emissions by 20 percent and save more than $5 billion in utility costs by 2030 the retail tech giant announced at the Circularity19 conference in Minneapolis.
“Best Buy exists to help people enrich their lives through technology, which certainly embraces eco-friendly options that benefit our customers and planet,” said Best Buy Director of Environmental Sustainability & Compliance Alexis Ludwig-Vogen. “We believe a combination of eco-friendly products and services, along with continued improvements in our own operations, can produce measurable results for everyone.”
In Best Buy’s most recent Corporate Responsibility report, the company was awarded the No. 1 position in Barron’s Most Sustainable Companies List, which rates the top 100 sustainable companies on a scale of 200 points. Best Buy also incorporated a Supply Chain Sustainability Program to lessen its environmental impact.
Best Buy hopes to achieve its goal of reducing consumer emissions by 20 percent by putting a greater emphasis on Energy Star electronics and other energy-saving devices in store. Best Buy received the Energy Star Retail partner of the year award for the sixth-consecutive year.
“We’re impressed by the fact that Best Buy is looking well beyond its own direct impact by committing to help customers reduce their household carbon emissions, while helping to bring the world’s biggest electronics and appliance buyers, manufacturers and utilities together to solve this issue,” said Eric Olson, senior vice president at Business for Social Responsibility.
Best Buy also stated in its press release that it would reduce its carbon emissions by 75 percent through using renewable energies, LED lighting, hybrid vehicles and solar panel investments. Best Buy states that it will also incorporate more automated technologies in its distribution centers to reduce the amount of waste it produces, and the amount of waste produced by shipping products to customers.
“As it helps consumers be environmentally responsible, Best Buy remains the nation’s largest collector of recyclable electronics and appliances,” Best Buy wrote. “Since 2009, Best Buy has collected more than 2 billion pounds of electronics and appliances for recycling.”
According to a Deloitte survey, more and more businesses believe that reducing their carbon footprint is more important due to customer demands.
“The survey shows renewables and climate are important to businesses,” Marlene Motyka, Deloitte U.S. and global renewable energy leader and principal with Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP, told POWER on June 10 in an interview at the Edison Electric Institute’s annual convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, prior to the report’s release. “[The survey] showed 84 percent were aware of the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report.”
