We have made significant progress and have taken dozens of tangible steps to reduce our impact on the environment. In part, we have:
- Installed active solar power systems at about 40 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores and facilities. When a new 3.5-megawatt, high-efficiency solar power system goes into service in spring 2011 at the company's Goodyear, AZ, online fulfillment center, it will be the largest rooftop solar power system in the United States.
- Invested in energy efficiency projects and consumption reduction initiatives that reduced our total energy use by 23 percent in the period 2002 to 2010.
- Decreased our use of office/copy paper by 36 percent and paper used in marketing by 14 percent in the period 2007 to 2010.
- Increased to 90 percent the proportion of recycled or certified paper used in our marketing materials, to 80 percent in our shopping bags, and to 89 percent in gift boxes.
- Installed more than 130,000 LED light bulbs in 2010 to cut energy consumption by up to 73 percent in 95 Macy’s stores, with continued rollout planned for 2011.
- Initiated recycling programs that diverted more than 66 tons of waste in 2010 from our stores, offices and distribution centers away from dumping in landfills.
- Created an internal website, Green Living, so our 166,000 associates can interact with the company on sustainability-related topics at work and home.
- Substituted biodegradable packing materials in place of foam "peanuts" in shipping products bought by customers online.
- Eliminated the use of bottled water for internal meetings in Macy’s offices.
- Initiated a two-year process for eliminating foam packaging (cups, bowls, plates, to-go containers) in the company's in-store restaurants.
- Pioneered efforts to reduce the number of empty trucks on the nation's highways through a coordinated program called Empty Miles Service that matches empty trucks/trailers with other shippers or carriers that can use the space.
Macy’s has been recognized by ForestEthics for reducing mailings and overall paper consumption, as well as for increased use of recycled and certified paper. The EPA has rated Macy’s as one of its top 20 partners for generating the most green electricity on site. And Newsweek ranked Macy’s among the top 150 greenest companies in America for its efforts with solar power, recycled paper and eco-friendly merchandise.
We know we have more to learn and more to do in reducing our overall impact on the environment. We want Macy’s, Inc. to be a leader in the global effort to improve our climate and we are moving forward with conviction.