The Homa Files

Excerpted from New York Times, “Green Plans in Blueprints of Retailers”, by Andrew Martin, November 8, 2008

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Across the country, a race is under way among stores and fast-food restaurants to build environmentally friendly outlets, as a way to curry favor with consumers and to lower operating costs. Most chains are focusing on prototypes at the moment, but the trend could eventually change the look and function of thousands of stores.

The green building boom is partly being driven by retailers’ desire to capture the attention of consumers who have become fascinated by hybrid cars, energy-saving light bulbs and wind turbines.

But more important for the companies, it is a way to shave long-term operating costs at stores and restaurants, which consume copious amounts of energy and water for ovens and fryers, heaters and air conditioners, sinks and toilets.

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While the “green” moniker is ill-defined and vulnerable to exaggeration, many of the chains, including McDonald’s, are seeking LEED certification from the United States Green Building Council, a nonprofit agency in Washington whose rating system is a widely accepted standard.

Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University and a frequent critic of fast-food chains, said the green buildings were laudable but were ultimately intended to make people feel better about eating unhealthful food.

“Takes your mind off the calories, doesn’t it?” she wrote in an e-mail message. Ms. Nestle added in an interview, “I think it’s fabulous that they are doing it, and McDonald’s always has a tremendous impact. But it’s still making junk food.”

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Retailers say building LEED-certified buildings make economic sense, particularly with energy prices becoming so unpredictable.

At Wal-Mart, for instance, all new stores have highly efficient lights, skylights and improved heating, cooling and refrigeration systems. The floors of the stores are not covered but instead are exposed concrete slabs made with recycled steel and fly ash, a waste product. The high-efficiency prototype stores are equipped with even more efficient heating and cooling systems; a store in Las Vegas, for instance, is expected to save 45 percent in energy costs over traditional stores. 

Peter DiPasqua, a Subway franchisee with 89 stores in central Florida, said he originally thought his green store in Kissimmee was largely a “feel-good thing.” But he said as construction progressed, he became more impressed with the benefits of LEED-certified construction.

The store cost about 20 percent more to build, Mr. DiPasqua said. But he said he was saving 20 percent a month on electricity even though the store, in a prime location, is selling 43 percent more than a store down the street.

Edit by DAF

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Full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/business/08build.html?ref=business&pagewanted=print

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