In collaboration with the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the Environmental Protection Agency has launched a web portal for retailers that offers information and resources about environmental compliance, pollution prevention and other green issues specific to the industry.
More than a year in the making, the Retail Industry Web Portal at www.epa.gov/retailindustry includes resources that address compliance and sustainability issues in several categories:
• New Buildings and Infrastructure
• Facilities Management
• Transportation Logistics and Supply Chain
• Merchandising: Products and Packaging
• Customer Programs and Services
• Reporting
The front page of the portal features a section that flags enforcement alerts. It also provides a menu of links that direct the user to EPA programs, such as the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), GreenChill, WaterSense and 15 others.
The portal is an outgrowth of RILA's Sustainability Initiative, which the association began in 2007 to develop and promote cleaner and greener business practices. Resources and information available through the portal are free.
The Association for Retail Environments also announced that it has a new tool available.
The 100-page guide called "Sustainable Retail Environments: Product Guidelines and Operational Best Practices" includes information about product design, manufacturing, logistics, strategies for integrating sustainability into business operations, understanding eco-labels and LEED standards for retail.
The guide is available in a flash drive and in hard copy for prices that range from $149, the members' rate for the flash drive, to $399, the fee for nonmembers interested in buying a hard copy.
Image by LeoSynapse.