Home Depot has set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions related to the domestic supply chain by 20 percent over the next five years.
The retailer expects its supply chain to benefit from a move to a centralized distribution network, instead of the mostly supplier-to-store process in place currently. More efficient routing, scheduling and consolidation of store shipments is expected to equate to a reduction of 200 million miles driven a year.
In a review of its progress so far, the retailer said it has saved 2.6 billion kilowatt hours at its U.S. operations since starting an energy efficiency program in 2004. In Canada, the chain has saved 220 million kWh since 2005. Home Depot said it expects to hit a 20 percent reduction in kWh per square foot in the U.S. and Canada by 2015.
The company is in the process of calculating its overall carbon footprint, based on standards from the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development protocol.
