Kohl's Green Retail Efforts Worth Checking Out

Kohl's Department Stores exhorts its customers to "expect great things." Judging from the retailer's eco-friendly efforts honored last week at the 2008 Green Power Leadership Awards, Kohl's customers already are seeing great things.What makes Kohl's efforts worth noting is the diversity of its strategy. It includes massive on-site solar-powered energy generation; centralized energy power-management system in all of its stores; the purchase of renewable-energy credits; and the installation of automated demand-response controls to reduce power usage during peak times. I have mixed feelings about RECs, but Kohl's is clearly using them as stepping stones on its way to greener operations.

Those efforts -- and others that include high-efficiency lighting, massive cardboard recycling and efficient freight distribution -- were lauded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Center for Resource Solutions.

Of all its efforts, Kohl's solar efforts are the most impressive. Kohl's, which buys or produces 20% of its annual electricity from renewable sources, expects to have 100 on-site solar photovoltaic arrays installed on rooftops in Oregon, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland by the end of the year, with another 33 planned.

Also, as of the end of the year, 100% of Kohl's locations will be operated by a central energy management system. The system controls heating, cooling, and lighting at Kohl's stores.

In 33 Kohl's stores in California, Kohl's also has partnered with RTP Controls to install automated demand-response controls. Using these controls, Kohl's has agreed to reduce power usage in its stores during the peak times Monday through Friday in the months May to October.

Here's how it works: The local utility alerts RTP when the demand will likely exceed the supply. RTP sends a message to the control unit at Kohl's stores that then automatically shuts down the store's cornice and spotlights to support energy reduction at these times. The store customers and associates are alerted by a message that is broadcast at regular intervals on the store's public address system.