“We have come a long way in making our company more efficient, less wasteful and greener –which is important to our customers, associates, shareholders and communities,” said Amy Hanson, the Macy’s executive vice president who oversees sustainability activities. “In all, we have already implemented more than 100 new sustainability ideas over the past six years. But the more we do, the more we learn about opportunities for further improvement. We are more committed today than ever to pursuing new advances in sustainability and finding pragmatic steps we can take to become responsible stewards of our environment while also engaging our workforce and reducing costs.”

New and enhanced elements of sustainability at Macy’s Inc. in 2014 include:

• Collaborating with Volta Industries to install 17 new free-to-operate electric vehicle (EV) charging stations outside eight Macy’s stores in the Los Angeles area by late fall 2014. This installation will bring to 33 the number of EV charging stations available to customers at Macy's store locations in southern California. In 2011, Macy’s became the first major department store to pilot the use of EV charging stations when it forged an agreement to install 16 charging stations outside five Macy’s stores and one Bloomingdale’s store in the San Diego area, which are currently being operated as part of the Blink Network. Collectively, these charging stations provide an added convenience to EV drivers and help promote the reduction of fuel consumption and the transition to clean, renewable energy.

• Entered a new phase of its industry-leading program to install energy-saving LED light bulbs in stores nationwide. The company has already installed more than 1.1 million LED bulbs in more than 800 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores across America, cutting energy consumption used in lighting by up to 73 percent compared with conventional bulbs replaced. In 2014, LED technology is being extended to begin replacing fluorescent fixtures in store locations.

• Planning and developing 20 additional solar power arrays to be installed on the roofs of stores and distribution centers in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and other states in 2014 and 2015. At year-end 2013, solar energy was being generated on 55 active installations at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s facilities.

• Macy’s Private Brands – the company’s product development organization – has joined the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a trade organization working to reduce the environmental and social impacts of apparel and footwear products around the world. SAC comprises brands, retailers, manufacturers, government and non-governmental organizations and academic experts, representing more than a third of the global apparel and footwear market.

• Reducing waste in the merchandise supply chain by standardizing the size of packing cartons, incorporating recycled polyester fibers in many woven garment labels, minimizing packaging materials and adopting paper hangtags made from FSC-certified paper. Work on packaging reduction is being researched and piloted in Macy’s Private Brands, with plans to collaborate with market merchandise vendors in the months ahead.

• Setting new and higher goals to increase customer adoption of electronic (paperless) billing statements and electronic bill payment. In 2013 alone, nearly 18 percent of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s customers opted for paperless statements, saving about 745,000 pounds of paper.

• Driving adoption of digital receipts, which are available in all Macy’s stores nationwide. When making a purchase, customers can choose to have a copy of their receipt emailed to them, thus eliminating the unnecessary use of paper receipts. Digital receipts are a convenience for many customers and support the company’s sustainability objective of reducing the use of paper in its business operations. In 2013, about 6 percent of all store transactions were paperless.

Source: Macy’s Inc.