Earth Day - Companies Getting Serious About Making Earth Beautiful

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Earth Day - Companies Getting Serious About Making Earth Beautiful

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By Carrie Thayer

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 11:57

Earth Day 2008 has demonstrated that many top chains are getting serious about bringing energy efficiency and beauty back to The Earth.

One such store working hard to improve the planet is Meijer.

Top Story: Meijer steps up green efforts

Last week, Meijer opened its newest supercenter, a renovation in Plainfield Township debuted 51 years after the initial unit launched, but, in a sign of the times, the updated location meets LEED requirements for energy efficiency. Meijer opened its first LEED-certified store in Allen Park. Mich., last year and has been applying operations it developed in preparing that store in new and renovated units it has opened since. The Plainfield Township store is the first of nine new units Meijer will open in 2008. Of the nine new supercenters Meijer plans to open this year, five are renovations and four are greenfield units.

Meijer's environmental activities continue to grow. In terms of stores, Meijer is looking ahead to more LEED-certified facilities both in new and renovated stores. No officially LEED certified buildings are planned for this year, but they will come, Meijer spokesman Frank Guglielmi said. Another Meijer environmental initiative that has made a big splash is its reusable bag program. The blue, white and green sack, with front utility pockets as well as the main space, sell for 99 cents and has become a kind of status item in Michigan, a little like the brown Bloomingdales bag is in New York, although the message in Michigan may be regarded as a bit more altruistic. The bags have proved so popular, in fact, that Meijer has sold as many as 40,000 in a week and has more than half a million in circulation through its marketing territory, which ranges from Ohio to Illinois. As part of its circular covering the period leading up to Earth Day, Meijer is highlighting another green initiative, a partnership with The Nature Conservancy to promote non-invasive ornamental plants in its garden centers. Invasive plants are a major problem in the Great Lakes region and play a role in environmental degradation along shorelines throughout. Meijer is not only featuring plants that won't cause trouble but is using its garden centers to inform customers about which plants are friendly to the particular environment in and around its stores.

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