Best Buy Announces Plans to Reduce Carbon Emissions by 8 Percent
Best Buy announces plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 8 percent per square foot across all U.S. stores and operations, including its corporate headquarters, fleet and distribution centers by 2012.
Best Buy intends to measure emissions on a per square footage basis to account for improvement while maintaining company growth initiatives. A recent nationwide inventory indicated that U.S. operations and stores emit approximately 62 pounds of GHG annually per square foot. Electricity use represents 77 percent of the emissions, followed by heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) at 13 percent; gas for fleet and service vehicles at 5 percent, and diesel for fleet vehicles and natural gas at 2 percent each.
Best Buy has outlined specific steps designed to help reach its reduction target, including:
- New stores built with high efficiency lighting and HVAC systems and skylights
- Addition of skylights and upgrades of lighting and HVAC systems in existing stores and operations
- Implementation of a no-idling policy nationwide for all fleet
-Upgrades and networking of the centralized Energy Management System to better track energy spikes across stores and operations
- Tests of renewable energy sources, including solar panels on select stores
"We're proud of the efforts we've made over the past decade to decrease our energy use," says Brian Dunn, president and COO, Best Buy. "And I'm even more proud of the employees and teams, across our stores and operations, who challenge us every day to make a bigger difference through better business practices. This commitment to reduce our emissions signals our willingness to invest in even more efficient operations today, which will save money over time and help us to meet the expectations of our customers, employees, and shareholders."
Best Buy intends to measure emissions on a per square footage basis to account for improvement while maintaining company growth initiatives. A recent nationwide inventory indicated that U.S. operations and stores emit approximately 62 pounds of GHG annually per square foot. Electricity use represents 77 percent of the emissions, followed by heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) at 13 percent; gas for fleet and service vehicles at 5 percent, and diesel for fleet vehicles and natural gas at 2 percent each.
Best Buy has outlined specific steps designed to help reach its reduction target, including:
- New stores built with high efficiency lighting and HVAC systems and skylights
- Addition of skylights and upgrades of lighting and HVAC systems in existing stores and operations
- Implementation of a no-idling policy nationwide for all fleet
-Upgrades and networking of the centralized Energy Management System to better track energy spikes across stores and operations
- Tests of renewable energy sources, including solar panels on select stores
"We're proud of the efforts we've made over the past decade to decrease our energy use," says Brian Dunn, president and COO, Best Buy. "And I'm even more proud of the employees and teams, across our stores and operations, who challenge us every day to make a bigger difference through better business practices. This commitment to reduce our emissions signals our willingness to invest in even more efficient operations today, which will save money over time and help us to meet the expectations of our customers, employees, and shareholders."