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Why waste a ribbon when you can plant a tree …
San Diego, California – Walgreens celebrated the opening of the country’s first green drugstore yesterday not with a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, but by planting a native tree.
“We felt that planting a tree was much more appropriate than cutting the ribbon and then throwing it away,” said Jamie J. Meyers, LEED AP architect, who attended the event.
Walgreens, the country’s largest drugstore chain, is once again changing the landscape for the American consumer, this time for a greener one. The store in question was designed from the ground up with a dual mission of efficiency and sustainability. Not only is it the first pharmacy in the US to meet USGBC’s stringent LEED design standards, it is also a 24/7 store where you can purchase many environmentally friendly products.
By exceeding LEED requirements and integrating eco-friendly product lines into their product range, they have taken steps that cannot simply be attributed to widespread corporate greenwashing
Serious commitment …
With this project and future plans for many like it, Walgreens has made a serious commitment to sustainability. . Here are just a few of the things they’ve built into this store from the architectural side;
– Take landscaping for example – They used all native plants that will not require any watering as they adapt to transplanting. Here in San Diego, that’s a pretty big deal because we’re in the middle of tier two drought …
– They have gone to great lengths to reduce energy losses for lighting, using 75% of natural sunlight during the day. This was achieved by installing solar pipes and skylights that shine from the ceiling. This, in combination with the LEDs in their signs and coolers, reduces the energy consumption related to lighting by 50%
– They reduce the pollution of rainwater from nearby buildings by collecting and filtering the water flowing onto their plot.
– Water consumption is estimated to be 50% below LEED standard levels.
-75% of the materials are architectural salvage from the previous construction that existed on the plot.
– White roof included to reduce cooling energy consumption as well as soften the urban heat island effect.
– There are many other green details as well, such as parking spaces for hybrid cars, a bicycle rack and a place chosen partly for its proximity to public transport.
While other companies such as Wal-Mart and Target have made symbolic gestures in favor of the green move, Walgreens really seems to understand it. While there is still room for improvement, the significant steps they have taken to “go green” far outweigh the typical dog and pony show that is now considered ecological by many companies.
At one point, the question was seriously asked: “How can we make ourselves more efficient and sustainable?” And someone took the time to find some owners. However, here we find the question that all modern companies will face as energy prices rise and the public becomes more aware of its own impact on the planet. . Regardless of whether it is a product that they produce, a service provided, or goods that are sold by large and small companies, they cannot avoid changes taking place in our environment. Those who do not respond to these changes will end up like Walgreens competitors such as Eckerd; just trying to keep up with the package.
A story of steady progress
“Walgreens is making huge strides with our environmental initiatives in stores across the chain. We reduce electricity and water consumption, recycle tons of cardboard and shrink film every year, and modernize equipment for maximum efficiency, ”said Walgreens Vice President, Marketplace Matt Sesto
Walgreens has never been a fashionable / exciting company. On the contrary, it is a family-run, all-American company with a long history of steady growth. In many cases, they were among the first to implement innovative strategies such as switching to barcode scanning technology and expansion into film development in the 1970s. They were also at the forefront of adapting a more convenient, customer-friendly format in a time when drugstore coverage was rather limited. . But through all these changes, they have always clung to their identity as “America’s second drugstore.”
So, when a company like Walgreens puts forward a broad environmentally friendly strategy, it really means something to their future intentions. As Jim Collins (author of Built to Last and Good to Great) mentioned in an article titled Best Beats First;
“They (Walgreens) can be slow – they follow the creep, walk, run, trajectory, but when they run they will run around companies that believe being first is all that matters.”
So when Walgreens tells me it plans to build many more new green locations as well as make additional eco-friendly modifications to its 6,857 existing locations – I believe them. This store alone saves enough energy to power over 19 homes a year – imagine what the combined effect will be!
Delivering green products “to every corner of the drugstore in America”
Walgreens’ unique position as a nationwide leader in its industry gives them the ability to offer and support green organic products through its extensive 24-hour store network. It also gives them the opportunity to convince their competitors to do the same. This says nothing about the opportunities available to them to offer holistic, environmentally friendly and organic health products. Again, for the sake of fairness, this is an area where steps have been taken … but there is still room for improvement. While some eco-friendly products have been prominently featured, most of their inventories are the same old clogged landfills… “things” plaguing America today.
This brings to mind the reason why I decided to write this article. Walgreens, like many other long-standing companies, is in an awkward position. While they struggle to wrap their strategy around sustainable development, they are still plagued by a long legacy of conventional, polluting, unsustainable business practices. Unfortunately, this is something that no company can change overnight. This problem can only be solved by sustained long-term efforts. No broad initiative or “agenda for change” will result in significant differences in behavior that have developed over many generations.
The good news, however, is that under pressure from retail giants like Walgreens, major manufacturers (such as Walgreens own current suppliers) will naturally “follow their lead” and start offering more eco-friendly product alternatives. Here are a few of the product lines currently available at their Mira Mesa (SD) location;
Healthy Times- Organic Baby Food- Definitely a valuable green product – especially if you are tired of paying for water and starch! Organic baby food should be in every grocery / drugstore in America. I would recommend this product to any parent looking to give their child a healthy, green start. They have many options, all organic, all formulated with the care of children’s skin, hair, growth and overall well-being in mind. This baby food contains no refined sugars, preservatives or artificial additives.
Biofusion- This is Walgreens proprietary hair care products that incorporate natural ingredients in its formulas. There is no word yet about sustainability or the social responsibility of the manufacturing process, however, the formulas rely less on chemicals with too many syllables to pronounce.
Burt’s Bees – Here’s a great example of a cottage industry manufacturer for mothers and pop that has become a nationwide success… and is now leveraging that success to capitalize on advances in environmental protection. Their personal care products are not only natural (beeswax), but their entire business philosophy is focused on supporting the “greater good”, from their charitable donations to encouraging employees to develop personally.
Clorox Greenworks- This is Clorox’s brand of eco-friendly cleaning products that use – in their words “environmentally friendly chemicals” to achieve cleaning results similar to Clorox’s toxic / harmful flagship products. Clorox is also contributing to the Sierra Club in the name of this product line. (Get coupons here)
Natures Source – SC Johnsons green plant based cleaning products are environmentally friendly and have a wide choice. Visit their website to learn more about these products and what SC Johnson is doing to help the environment.
WaterU- is another product produced by Walgreens. BPA-free reusable water jug, available in various sizes. It is reusable and recyclable and contains no harmful BPA traces in typical bottled water containers.
So, while green products have been made available at this location, there is a clear focus on the architectural sustainability goal. I can imagine shifting away from long-term relationships with distributors is difficult, but there’s really no reason why Walgreens can’t offer more environmentally friendly alternatives to some of its best-selling products.
A green pharmacy is a healthy pharmacy
An often overlooked (but very important) part of the green transition is healthy decisions that everyone can make
a day like proper nutrition, exercise and choosing the right over-the-counter health products. Take into account that the medical industry is a major polluter in landfills and toxic waste. Just take a look around the next time you’re in the hospital and it won’t be hard to see why. If Walgreens can take its commitment to the next level by promoting natural and environmentally friendly health products in its stores, it would be quite an amazing achievement by any environmental standard.
Ecology is as much about the lifestyle you live in as it is about the home you live in. Consequently, it is as much about the products you sell as it is about the building where you sell them. Sometimes it is forgotten in the business world and industry. Hopefully Walgreens is able to apply the same wise judgment in this area that it is currently practicing in the design and energy policy of its new buildings. For grand opening photos read the full article on my Go Walgreens!
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Source by Isaac Curtiss