"We are committed to seeking solutions that encourage long term sustainability to ensure Kohl's is able to leave a smaller footprint on our world today which will create a more sustainable tomorrow for our associates, customers and their families."
- Steve Thomas, Kohl's Chief Risk & Compliance Officer
In recognition of our continued leadership in energy efficiency, Kohl’s was awarded an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award in 2018. We have been working with the EPA ENERGY STAR program since 1998. ENERGY STAR provides Kohl’s with tools and technical information to help save money and protect the climate through improved energy efficiency. Our participation in this program helps us assess the performance of our buildings and set goals to improve energy efficiency. Using the ENERGY STAR scoring system, buildings are rated on a scale of one to 100. A score of 75 or higher achieves ENERGY STAR certification, indicating that the building is among the top 25 percent of retail stores in the country for energy efficiency. Eighty-eight percent of our stores are ENERGY STAR certified, including 14 stores certified in 2017.
Kohl’s is an active member of the EPA’s Green Power Partnership. In 2018, we were ranked in the Top 10 on the EPA Green Power Partnership’s Top 30 Retail List in recognition of our commitment to renewable energy: solar and wind.
In 2017, Kohl’s was honored with the EPA’s SmartWay Excellence Award. We are a member of the EPA SmartWay transport program, a public-private initiative working to improve fuel efficiency and reduce transportation related emissions. In 2017, it was reported that 100 percent of miles our merchandise traveled domestically in 2016 were with SmartWay members.
Kohl’s was honored with the 2017 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WasteWise Award for our excellence in waste management, leading large businesses in its practices of preventing waste and recycling in order to achieve both environmental and economic benefits.
We are committed to providing healthy and engaging environments for our customers and associates. By seeking solutions that encourage long-term sustainability, we try to leave a smaller footprint. The steps we have taken and continue to take – both big and small – help us drive results as we strive to create a more sustainable tomorrow.
Recycling: We support recycling programs and waste avoidance strategies to conserve resources.
Climate: To demonstrate our commitment to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, we signed the American Business Act Pledge on Climate Change. We acknowledge climate change can alter the way we currently do business, from energy expenses to sourcing, even to shifting seasonal weather conditions that impact our customers’ shopping habits.
Buildings: We aim to provide healthy and engaging environments for our customers, associates and communities through our more than 1,100 stores, facilities and corporate offices. As part of these efforts, we have invested in building and maintaining energy efficient, sustainable buildings.
Operational Recycling: In store and at our corporate facilities, our solid waste management policy covers the disposal of all consumables and durable goods with the goal of recycling as much material as possible. Kohl’s recycles the shipping material from shipment packaging. We also actively work with our merchant teams to increase the units per carton, helping to reduce the amount of handling, transportation and overall material in the supply chain.
Dry Recycling: Materials are collected and delivered to a facility to be sorted before being appropriately recycled or disposed of.
Plastic Recycling: In 2014, we developed partnerships to help us recycle plastic film, bags and wrap. As a result of these programs, we recycled more than 7 million pounds of plastic film, bags and wrap from shipping, store operations and customers in 2017 alone.
Plastic Bag Recycling: In addition to our company recycling efforts, we want to make it easier for our customers to recycle as well. Shoppers can find a bright, green box at Kohl’s stores where they can drop plastic bags, shipping envelopes, air pillows, and product wrap. Customers may also bring our hangers back to the store any time, for recycling and reuse. To further this cause, our shopping bags are even made with sustainability in mind, as they contain 30-50 percent recycled, unbleached plastic – resulting in the gray colored bag customers receive when they shop at our stores.
Paperless Credit Statement: Since 2014, the company has issued more than 150 million electronic credit card statements to Kohl’s charge card holders. To date, more than a quarter of our credit statements are delivered electronically.
Beauty Products: Kohl’s stores recycle fragrance testers, nail polish, soaps, and other beauty products. Products are collected and recycled into useful items like paints for models, outdoor furniture, floor cleaners, and deodorizing sprays.
Fabric Scrap Recycling: In 2017, we built on our existing garment recycling program by recycling fabric scraps in our New York, Menomonee Falls, Wis. and Findlay, Ohio locations that handle fabric. In New York, associates sort scraps in one of two bags, one for regular scraps and another for proprietary materials. At our headquarters in Menomonee Falls, Wis. and in other corporate locations, associates place scraps into large purge boxes that are sorted at our distribution center in Findlay, Ohio.
Renewable Energy: Kohl’s hosts more than 200,000 solar panels on 163 rooftops around the country. Each system can provide between 20 and 50 percent of a store’s energy needs. We have also installed nine solar trees between two corporate buildings in Menomonee Falls, Wis., and Dallas, Tex.. In addition to solar, Kohl’s hosts two wind turbines at our Findlay, Ohio distribution center.
Electric Vehicle Charging: Kohl’s is supportive of electric vehicle usage. In 2011, we started helping families play their part in lowering carbon emissions as we began providing electric vehicle charging stations in store and corporate parking lots. Accessibility to stations, whether while shopping or at work, creates a convenient and easy experience for customers and associates while we support environmentally-friendly behavior.
Our network of stations is currently in 22 states. At this time, we have 206 charging stations at 94 locations. Customers and associates can find stations through independent mobile apps for electric-vehicle drivers or on Kohls.com in the store locator section.
Transportation - Domestic Carriers: Kohl’s uses SmartWay tools to measure our domestic road transportation emissions footprint, and we report our transportation data annually to the EPA. Through careful planning and collaboration, we contributed to the elimination of 2.3 million miles of inefficient truck travel in 2017. Delivering cargo, trucks are often underutilized or even empty during return trips. Backhauling truck loads with cargo for their return trip ensures no miles traveled are wasted. The benefits to backhaul include reduced fuel costs, road miles, emissions, and congestion due to fewer empty trucks on the roads. Additionally, Kohl’s continues to support shipment by rail. This is a more economical way to move our products between our distribution centers and stores than shipping by road, and emits 75 percent less carbon emissions.
Transportation - International Carriers: Kohl’s engages its ocean carriers through its membership in the Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) Clean Cargo Working Group. This group’s membership includes more than 85 percent of the world’s ocean carriers, including 9 of 10 Kohl’s ocean carriers. Ninety-seven percent of carriers transporting Kohl’s merchandise travels on a BSR cargo ship.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED): We use the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) green building program rating systems to guide the design, construction and operation of our stores. Our expansive LEED® portfolio across the country stands as a testament to the steps we have taken to reduce our environmental impact and provide customers with a positive and healthy shopping environment. There are three LEED® rating systems that Kohl’s leverages across our building portfolio: LEED® Building Design and Construction, LEED® Building Operations and Maintenance, and LEED® Interior Design and Construction.
Energy Efficiency: We have been working with the EPA ENERGY STAR program since 1998. ENERGY STAR provides Kohl’s with tools and technical information to help save money and protect the climate through improved energy efficiency. Our participation in this program helps us assess the performance of our buildings and set goals to improve energy efficiency. Using the ENERGY STAR scoring system, buildings are rated on a scale of one to 100. A score of 75 or higher achieves ENERGY STAR certification, indicating that the building is among the top 25 percent of retail stores in the country for energy efficiency. Eighty-eight percent of our stores are ENERGY STAR certified, including 14 stores certified in 2017.
Water Conservation: We invest in appliances, equipment and processes to help conserve this precious resource. Our stores feature efficient low-flow faucets and new stores have low-flow toilets. Together, these measures are helping to reduce indoor water usage by 20-30 percent, compared to the baseline, which was based on the requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and 2005. We are working to install smart irrigation controllers that use live weather data to inform irrigation schedules and reduce outdoor water usage. We are also exploring strategies to utilize native vegetation and drought-resistant plants to significantly reduce or even eliminate the need for irrigation altogether.
Energy Goal: As a participant in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, Kohl’s set a goal to reduce energy use by at least 20 percent across 112 million square feet of our occupied building space by 2020, against a 2008 baseline. We are working toward this goal through a combination of sustainable building and maintenance practices. At the end of 2016, we had achieved an 18 percent reduction in energy usage from a 2008 baseline.
Recycling Goal: In 2017, a recycling rate of more than 83 percent was achieved across our operations, moving closer to our goal of 85 percent.
Kohl’s is committed to providing healthy and engaging environments for our customers and associates. By seeking solutions that encourage long-term sustainability, we try to leave a smaller footprint. The steps we have taken and continue to take – both big and small – help us drive results as we strive to create a more sustainable tomorrow.
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As a participant in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, Kohl’s set a goal to reduce energy use by at least 20 percent across 112 million square feet of our occupied building space by 2020, against a 2008 baseline. We are working toward this goal through a combination of sustainable building and maintenance practices. At the end of 2016, we achieved an 18 percent reduction in energy usage from a 2008 baseline.
Kohl’s is one of the founding members of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and maintains active membership. The SAC is a group of apparel manufacturers, retailers, brands, and non-governmental organizations working together to standardize sustainability measurements in the apparel and footwear supply chain. Its Higg Index is an indicator based tool for apparel that enables companies to evaluate material types, products, facilities and processes based on a range of environmental and product design choices. We use the Higg Index to benchmark ourselves against peers and engage our suppliers in the process of improving our textile supply chain and factory performance.
Kohl’s uses the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™ (LEED®) green building program rating systems to guide the design, construction and operation of our stores. We continue to emphasize LEED® where appropriate and our portfolio stands as a testament to the steps we have taken to reduce our environmental impact and provide customers with a positive and healthy shopping environment.
There are several ways customers can participate in Kohl’s sustainable initiatives:
Bag & Hanger Recycling: Shoppers can find a bright, green box at Kohl’s stores where they can drop plastic bags, shipping envelopes, air pillows and product wrap. Customers may also bring our hangers back to the store any time, for recycling and reuse. To further this cause, our shopping bags are even made with sustainability in mind, as they contain 30-50 percent recycled, unbleached plastic – resulting in the gray colored bag customers receive when they shop at our stores.
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: to help families lower carbon emissions we provide electric vehicle charging stations in store and corporate parking lots. Accessibility to stations, whether while shopping or at work, creates a convenient and easy experience for customers and Associates while we support environmentally-friendly behavior. We have 206 charging stations at 94 locations across 22 states. Stations can be found on independent mobile apps for electric-vehicle drivers or on Kohls.com in the store locator section.
Paperless Statements: To date, more than a quarter of our credit statements are delivered electronically. Customers are able to opt into paperless statements at any time to reduce the amount of paper and ink used in our operations
Kohl’s engages associates through communication, sustainable opportunities and the celebration of individuals and teams that demonstrate environmentally-conscious behavior. Here are a few ways this comes to life at Kohl’s:
We share our sustainability story with customers and associates in several ways:
