Target is one retailer that "walks the talk"

This past semester, I taught public relations to a group of graduate students enrolled in the International Business Institute at SUNY New Paltz. These students were from all over the globe: Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Mexico. They were bright-eyed and enthusiastic as we discussed PR issues such as the impact of social media or the recent BP oil spill.

We also weighed in on what companies were doing on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) front. Their impression? U.S. companies were great at issuing CSR reports and launching related websites, but they were lousy at communicating these efforts to the public and could do a better job of “being green” instead of just saying they were green. As my friends at SDialogue often note, companies struggle with “walking the talk.”

For example, during a one of the classes, my students asked why U.S. retailers were having a hard time getting consumers to switch from paper and plastic bags to reusable bags. They said that many retailers talk up their green initiatives, yet my students’ shopping experience while living here reveal stores that push paper and plastic. It’s such a simple fix, the students said, that can save resources and promote a retailer’s effort to be greener. What was the problem?

I explained to them that many retailers were doing well on this front, and that the expansion in the market of reusable shopping bags continues to grow. I said U.S. consumers were catching on to this green benefit, but that it was taking some time. During the practical-exercise portion of the class, the students brainstormed a program for Target Corp. where the retailer would sell reusable shopping bags at cost and then offer consumer incentives for using the bags in the form of “points” that could be redeemed for discount coupons and/or products. Great idea, I said.

Later, I recalled that Target Corp. does a lot on the green front and its social responsibility efforts are broad and deep – despite a recent boycott call from shoppers over campaign contributions. On Earth Day in 2009, the retailer doled out 1 million free reusable bags for shoppers who made purchases. The giveaway included a $2 coupon for a GE compact fluorescent light bulb. And this past year, Target handed out 1.5 million bags during Earth Day. Perusing its social responsibility website, I also learned that Target ranked first on Greenpeace’s Seafood Scorecard.

I also learned that Target was working on several initiatives on the operations level. According to its CSR report, which can be found here, Target not only turns down the thermostat and has installed more energy efficient lighting and low-flow toilets in its stores, but the company is building better stores too. Target’s latest prototype store has “energy features providing an average of 16 percent energy reduction versus our previous prototype,” the retailer states. “Our previous prototype was recognized by many utilities as one of the most energy efficient designs in retail.”

Moreover, Target created a “garment hanger reuse program” that “keeps millions of pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills,” the company notes in its CSR report. “We send clothing to our stores already on hangers, each of which gets reused an average of four times or until it’s no longer functional.” As a result, over 430 million hangers were saved from going into landfills. Broken hangers, by the way, are recycled. And, since the apparel already has hangers on the garments, sales associates at the store level don’t have to do that work.

Good green, work, right?

Yes it is. And it makes me wonder why more retailers are not engaging in these types of efforts. As a shopper who reads labels, buys local, and uses reusable bags, where I choose to shop is directly influenced by the social and environmental responsibility of a company.

Arthur Zaczkiewicz is a columnist for RetailConnections as well as a freelance journalist and editor, and has previously served as senior editor, financial, of Women’s Wear Daily (WWD). As a reporter and writer, Zaczkiewicz’s work has appeared in WWD, WWD The Magazine, WWD Scoop, DNR, Footwear News, Home Furnishings News, HomeWorld Business, Hotel Business, Newsday, the Times Herald-Record, New York House magazine, Retail Traffic, BNET, Specialty Insider magazine and Ulster Publishing. He has also appeared on CNBC’s On the Money and on Northeast Public Radio.