Kohl's tally of Energy Star-labeled stores now stands at 219, the retailer's design prototype for stores has been awarded initial LEED Silver certification and three other stores in the chain have attained LEED ratings.

The recognition of Kohl's green building efforts followed news last week that the company is among the top three purchasers of renewable energy in the U.S., according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership program.

Before the week closed, the company was pointing to further acknowledgment from the EPA, this time from the agency's Energy Star program, which singles out commercial buildings and industrial plants in the U.S. with energy efficiency ratings that reach the top 25 percent.

Kohl's said 110 more of its stores had earned the Energy Star label, bringing the company's total to 219. Just last July, the company marked that 50 of its stores had been designated Energy Star sites.

Also this past week, Kohl's announced that its design prototype for stores attained initial LEED Silver certification under the standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council, and three stores obtained LEED ratings -- two silver and one basic certification -- thereby becoming the first of the firm's sites to achieve a LEED rating.

The company launched its green building initiative last year with the announcement of its expansion plans. By fall, 45 new green stores built to eco-friendy standards had opened. In all, some 60 green stores in Kohl's chain are awaiting LEED rating assessments.

The building and renewable energy initiatives are among the company's efforts toward greater environmental and social responsibility. The department store chain is the largest retail host of solar power.

_{Image courtesy of Kohl's.}