I thought this was pretty interesting considering all of the doom and gloom regarding the retail sector. Several large retailers are making serious investments in greening their businesses.

Huge retailer, Kohl’s, increased its green energy purchase by 160 percent, from 851 million kWh to 1.37 billion kWh, moving from the third-largest purchaser to the second-largest purchaser in the country. Kohl’s is second to Intel, who although not a retailer, also announced that it has contracted new solar electric installations targeted at eight U.S. locations in four states, generating approximately 2.5 megawatts of clean solar energy.

Staples, the office products retailer, unveiled a 1.01 megawatt solar power installation in Maryland at its 200,200 square foot fulfillment center in Hanover. The photovoltaic system will generate approximately 1.2 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year, and 21 million kWh during the initial 20 years of the project. The solar installation was financed, built and maintained under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with SunEdison.

The top five retailers in the US by green energy purchases according to the EPA are:
1. Kohl’s
2. Whole Foods Market
3. Walmart
4. Starbucks
5. Staples

Kudos to the above list.

And in the UK, Tesco, a large supermarket store owner, announced that it opened its first zero carbon store in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire.

Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy said: “It shows that you can dramatically alter how much carbon you use and life can go on”. The new store, he said, “cost 30% more to build, but it uses 50% less energy, and with oil at $70 a barrel it is a business case in itself”.