The People And Planet Positive Strategy For 2020

Many firms are learning that being environmentally friendly and sustainable has numerous benefits. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). This could enable them to increase goodwill from various stakeholders and also save money in the long term. This will mean that they are being more efficient and less wasteful of resources, which will enable them to be more competitive by satisfying stakeholders. The CEO of

In 2004 The Home Depot’s (THD) Eco Options program began in their Canadian locations and on Earth day of 2007 in the United States. The program was created to create environmentally friendly products to consumers that would support the environment while helping consumers save money on their monthly energy bills. The programs successful audience is a combination of two groups. The first group is involved in supporting the environment while living an ecofriendly lifestyle while the other group is mostly concerned about the money saving aspect of using the products. In contrast, there is a broad audience that THD EO’s program is not successfully reaching which is made up of mainstream consumers who care about the environment but don’t bother to inconvenience themselves with adjusting to using ecofriendly options. Consumers of the programs are middle aged people who are in the market for appliances. They need home improvement needs and appliances.

By planning to open 200 more stores in the near future, IKEA Group will strain their current sustainability practices and wood sourcing standards. According to IKEA Group’s Chief Sustainability Officer, “Worldwide economic activity, if left unchecked, is already on track to consuming 150% of planet earth’s resources” (Rangan, 2017, pg.1) The amount of lumber IKEA will need to procure is rising, but the amount available that fits their standards isn’t rising at the same rate. IKEA’s push to double sales and open the 200 stores will need to be met by a push to create or procure lumber that fit their standard. The options before IKEA are the following: to drive higher procurement targets and standards, to use more recycled wood, to own more forests,

The company has improved since last year by three places on the list having scored strongly on sustainable operations and energy criteria. The company also placed 5th on Interbrand’s 2012 Best Global Green Brands list, 22nd on NewsWeek’s 2012 environmental ranking of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the world and 3rd amongst companies in the technology equipment industry (Please refer to Appendix 2 and 3) thus clearly signifying its solid environmental standpoint.

IKEA pursues sustainability in a big way which is why competitors could learn from their company. IKEA has a wide variety of products under its label. Today, 71% of all IKEA products are recyclable, made from recycled materials, and or both (A.Jefferies, 2009). In addition to this, Ikea recycles 84% of waste generated in its stores. IKEAs sustainability focuses on four components: products and materials, suppliers, climate change, and community involvement. IKEA bases

There are several obstacles for manufacturers attempting to employ changes in their processes for more sustainable practices. One problem that manufacturers will run into is the lack of direction. Knowing that change is needed is the easy part of reaching sustainability. Knowing what changes to make is a much more complicated challenge. The idea of sustainability is discussed often, yet broad scope ideas are traded without specific details and applications. Team B Consultants Inc. (TBCI), is the

-Initiate and implement the ‘Go Green’ project to promote the sustainability features of our products to customers

The mission statement for EcoLiving is “To provide cost-effective, quality, and modern design and construction services while promoting greener living. Striving to advise and help our clients reduce their carbon footprint, along with our own, for the well being of our future generations.”

I decided to do my research at Lowe’s Home and Improvement. Lowe’s Home and Improvement is a hardware store that sales everything from your basic household appliances to minor cleaning supplies. Lowe’s believes that in order to maintain great customer service they feel that they must follow these simple rules: Provide customers with environmentally-responsible products, packaging and services at everyday low prices, educate and engage employees, customers and others on the importance of conserving resources, reducing waste and recycling, review and communicate progress made toward achieving established goals and objectives, and to engage on public policy issues related to sustainability. In this report I will discuss how I observed two

Nordstrom has continued to improve their dedication to the environment, steps such as: reducing carbon dioxide released into the air, using organic cottons and investing time and money into the discovery of more sustainable fabric clarification. Although many of these steps may seem like obvious choices so many large companies are still struggling to make the leap nordstrom has shown in these areas. The hunt for more sustainable fabrics is in hopes to lower the unlawfully logged forests and continue to encourage other brands, which they outsource from to be aware of how and where their fabric materials are made. The ethical decision to improve their own environmental practices and inspire other brands to do the same shows they care about the recent changes in society and are willing to form to these

GoodWeave is an organization which Target partnered with that prevented child labor in the manufacturing of their own brand woven rugs. The GoodWeave organization is aiming to stop child labor in the carpet industry and to replicate its market-based approach in other sectors according to their mission statement. Target’s goal is to provide their guests with the assurance that their rugs are responsibly sourced through the GoodWeave organization. Target partnered with the Natural Defense Council on Clean by Design, their mission is to reduce environmental impacts of suppliers abroad. Target saved in water, energy and materials from pilots in Chinese apparel textile mills. When that started happening, the saving of materials and such convinced Target to explore how the reducing can be applied to home textiles in 2015. The last of the goals was EcoSet, 420 tons of waste was created from adverting shoots since 2009 and it’s time to act and save that waste.

Besides, DFS aims to minimize its impact on natural resources by purchasing paper from suppliers which practice sustainable forestry and are close to DFS’s facilities so as to reduce carbon emission in delivery. Plus, it encourages clients to switch to paperless statements and replaced about 1,400 printers and fax machines with multifunctional devices. The above projects have led DFS to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver status. LEED is a rating system to assess the environmental performance of a company.

Growth plans and opportunities. Presently, IKEA aims to open 10-20 new retail outlets annually, with forecast of double sales target in a timeframe of five years. These targets can be accomplished through strict control functions and monitoring of inventories to ensure keeping costs at the minimum (Kelly, 2010, p. 3). In fact, in spite of inflation rate and rising cost of raw materials and fuel, IKEA has managed to reduce its average costs by 0.8% in FY2012 (“IKEA Group,” cited in “Strategic Supply,” 2013, p. 4).

In this business report on the global retail business IKEA, it will cover the nature of business, influences on operations, operation processes, operation strategies and how the business can sustain competitive advantage. IKEA was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in Älmhult, Sweden. The business established after and with the money his father awarded him for succeeding in his studies, Kamprad sustained a cash inflow by selling pens, wallets, watches, picture frames, table runners, jewellery and nylon stockings at reduced prices to customers. Although, later on in 1958, IKEA was introduced as a leader of Swedish Furniture Company as they started to produce local furniture by the Swedish local manufacturers, which gained positive attention from their customers. Eventually, developing flat packs of furniture for storage and self assembly, making their signature style of IKEA and turning the small business into a global sensation.

Kingfisher is a company which dominates the home improvement industry as Europe's largest merchant, with around 1,000 stores in eight countries. Kingfisher is a company which not only believes in better homes, but believes in a sustainability of these structures and a responsibility to the environment. The company believes that there's no reason why products can't be sustainable and affordable. Kingfisher believes in empowering the consumer to make adjustments to their homes with project advice and new chopping channels in conjunction with their stores, so that consumers can make their homes more comfortable and environmentally sound. When this harmony is achieved, the company truly believes that people can have better homes and better lives. According to the official Kingfisher website, this will allow the company to more fully unlock customer demand and so that business can flourish. In such a situation, the company believes, everybody wins. This approach will benefit stakeholders, shareholders, colleagues, and help the sustainability of local communities (kingfisher.com).