CVS Adopts Cosmetics Safety Policy, Reduces Waste and Energy Use

Published May 07, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Pharmacy retailer CVS Caremark plans to phase out toxic chemicals from its house-branded products in favor of safer alternatives.

The company detailed the new policy in its first Corporate Social Responsibility report that was released earlier this week. The policy was formally adopted earlier this year.

CVS Caremark said it would evaluate its brand and private label products based on the latest research findings, and would replace questionable ingredients when safer alternatives are available.

In its report, the company also offered a snapshot into its efforts to reduce energy consumption and make its operations more efficient. For instance, the CVS Caremark will green its data centers by replace computer room HVAC units, install energy management systems to turn off unused lights and swap older servers for newer technologies with more efficient power supplies.

CVS Caremark has worked to reduce unnecessary packaging for products shipped to distributors, such as the replacement of corrugated shipping boxes with plastic shipping totes. Its recycling efforts have allowed the company to recycle more than 78,000 tons of paper and cardboard.

The company streamlined its transportation and logistics network to drive overall fuel mileage efficiency by 11.2 percent. A lighting retrofit at two distribution centers will save the company about $128,000 each year in energy costs.

Looking ahead, the company plans to further integrate LEED and ENERGY STAR principles into its construction projects, streamline operations at its data centers and evaluate its carbon footprint impact with assistance of the MIT Center for Transportation.

Berkeley Lab, Tensilica Collaborate on Energy-Efficient Climate-Modeling Supercomputer Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and processor maker Tensilica are working on making a cost-effective supercomputer for creating highly detailed climate models....	Homebuilders Getting Greener, But Lacking Sustainability Leader All of the 13 largest U.S. homebuilders have taken up green building practices, but even though some are doing much more than others, there is no standout sustainable homebuilder, according to a new report....
DTE Energy Taps into Biodiesel DTE Energy will convert its 800-strong service vehicles and trucks to biodiesel in a move it expects will save the company $600,000 a year....	New PepsiCo Bottle Uses 20 Percent Less Plastic The new half-liter bottles also will sport a smaller label and need 5 percent less shrink wrap for multi-packs....
Nike Leads Pack of Companies Improving Climate Performance Companies such as Nike, Google, Anheuser-Busch and Levi Strauss have taken strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and communicating those efforts in ways that are transparent to consumers, according to the second Climate Counts Company Scorecard released today....	Ford Becomes First Car Company to Join The Climate Registry By joining the voluntary North American CO2 reporting group, the company has committed to measuring, reporting and independently verifying its greenhouse gas emissions for its facilities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico....
IBM Creates Data Center Alliance, Releases Energy Efficiency Tools IBM is continuing its efforts to green data centers, bringing together vendors to support energy standards and creating new tools for data center users to monitor energy use....	Survey Finds Widespread Adoption of Sustainable Seafood A report by the Seafood Choices Alliance finds that all sectors of the U.S. seafood industry have included sustainable seafood in their offerings and expect an increase in sales of all seafood as well as sustainable seafood....

News

CVS Adopts Cosmetics Safety Policy, Reduces Waste and Energy Use

GreenBiz Events