By Brad Berton, Contributing Writer<\/p>\n
In a cut-throat, thin-margin consumer marketplace, Walgreen Co.\u2019s portfolio sustainability endeavors help differentiate the brand from the competition, per the corporate slogan: \u201cAt the corner of Happy & Healthy.\u201d Noted director of sustainability Jamie Meyers: \u201cThe sustainability programs are also aimed at showing our customers how we are focusing on health and wellness in everything we do \u2014 not just in our products and services.\u201d<\/p>\n
Predictably, Walgreen\u2019s pair of primary national competitors are also actively publicizing their extensive store greening endeavors. For instance, CVS Caremark has been pursuing its Planet In Balance initiative, having committed in 2010 to reduce its portfolio\u2019s carbon intensity by 15 percent (on a per-square-foot basis) by 2018. The company had already reduced the intensity rate below the 2010 baseline by about 9 percent through last year.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Rite Aid Corp. has pursued myriad sustainability initiatives over the past half-decade, such as reducing its portfolio\u2019s annual electricity consumption by some 63 million kilowatt-hours via lighting upgrades alone. Automated energy-management control and monitoring systems cut usage by another 19 million kilowatt-hours each year, Rite Aid reports.<\/p>\n