Going Green



			Head, Titan, who strives in bringing down the power usage and sensitising the cause in whatever they do, says, "We have a theme in our company 'I live Green' where we send emails to all our employees creating awareness on eco-friendly related topics and also share initiatives undertaken by other companies. It is not a one-time affair and we have aimed to make it an ongoing initiative. We use only 5-star rated air conditioners in all our showrooms which have efficient power consumption. We also strictly practice switching off the monitors when not in use." A lot of thought has gone into an environmentally conscious supply chain. Venu Nair, Head of Region (South Asia Sourcing Offices) of Marks & Spencers says, "Almost 98%of the waste comprising food, plastic, cloth and hangers generated in our supply base is recycled through certified recycling agents and as a result we saved about	3,000 tons of carbon last year. The effluent treatment plants in our supply base have treated 75.000KL (approx 60% of the total water used) of waste water last year." Gaurav highlighted that the props in the stores are made of eco-friendly materials and they plan to set up wind energy plants at their manufacturing unit in Hosur. These initiatives also extend to the sourcing of raw materials. Venu Nair adds, "We are part of a cotton crop cultivation programme in Warangal which uses 50% less water, 50% less fertilizer utilization and a 35% reduction in pesticide." talktoretailplus@yahoo.com
Going Green
FROM MANUFACTURING AND SUPPLY CHAIN TO THE PACKAGING AND STORE DESIGN,THE RETAIL SECTOR IS DOING THEIR BITTO CONSERVE ENERGY AND MAKETHE ENVIRONMENTA FRIENDLY PLACETO LIVE IN
	ith global warming on the rise, the retail sector has undertaken a tot of eco-friendly initiatives. Anti plastic' is the buzz word at these retail outlets. With the consumption levels so high, retail outlets like Croma and Odyssey have taken steps to reduce the plastic content in their packaging. Infiniti Retail Ltd— Croma started using paper bags at all their outlets about a year ago. R. Suraash, Head Marketing, Odyssey India Ltd says, "Our consumption is so high that we have been using recyclable plastic bags right from the beginning. We use paper bags for our business verticals like 'Editions' luxury brands of pens available in stores across the country and the other vertical-STYLEi designer sunglasses showrooms in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi." Companies have also started to make their infrastructure eco-	friendly. Express Avenue, Chennai has applied for the Gold level of the Green Building Certification. The certification for the design of the mall is given by Green Building Council of India associated to international system Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED). R Aroon Kumar, CFO of the Mall says, "The atrium has tensile roofing that enables maximum amount of sunlight and has double walled glazing for all glass exteriors which greatly helps to reduce the overall heat level of the building. We have tied up with a power producer to secure power from wind energy." The mall currently uses recycled waste water for their gardens. They have plans to change their bulbs to LED from CFL. Aroon Kumar adds, "It is an expensive project but we plan to start the process in phases." At the corporate level, deliberate and focused efforts have been taken by a few retail outlets to make every employee conscious of being eco-friendly. Bhuwan Gaurav, Marketing