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PHOTO BY MARTY WHITACRE
footprint and water usage, but Kroger sacri- fices the marketing image that accompanies that LEED aura.”
Some things make sense everywhere with new technologies, such as installing LED lights. “If you have a capital budget that’s a very large one, as we do, that budget has competition for new stores, technology, all kinds of things, including more sustainable or alternative energy sources, so you have to pick and choose,” Marmer reasons.
“We shouldn’t be the tail wagging the dog,” says John Winkels, senior director of logistics engineering and network strategy, emphasizing the need to step out of your silo and think about the whole picture. “There’s often a healthy ten- sion when weighing the alternatives. For example, deliveries every other day might be
much more efficient, but we think that every- day deliveries are the right answer.”
It isn’t hard to get people excited about working on sustainability projects; even the guy on the forklift feels invested. “And Kroger employees are not shy about holding us accountable on sustainability,” says Winkel.
Turning to the company’s annual sustain- ability report, David Dillon, chairman and CEO, touts some astronomical energy and waste- reduction figures and lofty goals:
• Since 2000, the company has reduced overall energy consumption by 30 percent.
• In 2010, Kroger stores and manufactur- ing and distribution facilities recycled more than 1.2 billion pounds of corrugated card- board and paper.
• In 2010, through better bagging tech-
niques and increased sales of reusable bags, Kroger saved more than 159 million plastic bags, more than 35 percent of the way to its goal of saving a billion bags by 2014.
• With a collective transportation fleet log- ging in over 295 million miles from distribution centers to stores, Kroger improved its fleet effi- ciency by 8 percent in 2010, compared to 2009. (Its goal is to improve fleet efficiency by 40 percent by 2012.)
Kroger is no shrinking violet on business- savvy strategies, and executives are well aware of the dramatic cost savings sustainability measures can generate. For Kroger, those numbers are at times mind-boggling. Weighing costs/benefits, Kroger’s priorities will always remain true to its founding principles, grounded in social sustainability. pb
Kroger’s Harper’s Point produce department offers customized product selection, promotions and merchandising that tap into its community needs.
46 PRODUCE BUSINESS • MAY 2012