MRA honors retailers who help environment

What do Walker-based Meijer, Ypsilanti-based G & K Floor Covering and Lansing-based Horrocks Farm Market have in common? They are all retailers who have made a commitment to environmental responsibility in their business practices.

Michigan Retailers Association marked the 10th Anniversary of its Michigan Retailer of the Year Awards by also beginning to provide recognition to retailers who are taking steps to combat global warming and protect the environment. All activities, from the simple to the sophisticated, qualify retailers for this recognition.

Retailers in the state take various approaches to environmental protection. Some invest in alternative energy sources, such as the wind turbine recently installed at Horrock’s Farm Market in Lansing. The turbine provides the store with free, clean electrical energy and is expected to save the retailer approximately $10,000 a year on electricity.

Others find ways to reduce their consumption of gas in the transport of merchandise, such as Walker-based Meijer, Inc., which recently received a national award for its transportation conservation efforts that saved nearly 385,000 gallons of diesel fuel, resulting in a reduction of more than 4,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the past fiscal year.

Other retailers offer environmentally friendly products, such as floor coverings made of sustainable materials and eco-friendly hardwood floor finishes from Ypsilanti-based G & K Floor Coverings, or responsibly manufactured clothing from Clothing Matters in Grand Rapids.

Many retailers are building or retrofitting their stores with energy conservation in mind, such as Enviro Auto Service in Holland and Saper Galleries in East Lansing. Both businesses employ skylights to allow natural daylight to replace much of the need for artificial lighting in their businesses, among other energy-saving building principles.

Among the first wave of retailers recognized for their efforts to protect the environment are:

• Art Van Furniture, Warren
• Clothing Matters, Grand Rapids
• Don Thomas/Summit Sports, Birmingham
• Draft House, Dewitt
• Enviro Auto Plus, Zeeland
• G & K Floor Covering, Inc., Ypsilanti
• Horrock’s Farm Market, Lansing
• LaFontaine Automotive Group, Highland
• Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, Mooresville, NC
• Meijer, Inc., Walker
• myway Mobile Storage, Grand Rapids
• Saper Galleries, East Lansing
• Target Corporation, Minneapolis, MN

The Association will continue to recognize retailers who take steps to protect the environment and combat global warming.

Retailers may complete the online form, call MRA’s Laura Adkins at 800.366.3699 or e-mail her at ladkins@retailers.com.