Sustainability
Celebrating the retailers, brands and individuals pioneering the future of sustainable retail.
Retail Sustainability Transparency Award Southeastern Grocers
Corporate Awards
Individual Award
Retail Sustainability Leader of the Year Sephora’s Desta Raines
The Retail Sustainability Awards celebrate excellence in leadership and implementation of sustainable business practices within the retail ecosystem. The inaugural Retail Sustainability Awards, presented by RIS News, recognize the innovators and change makers who have made sustainability an integral part of how they do business. Through their strategic vision, entrepreneurial spirit, innovative approach and commitment to change, these leaders are truly impacting the future of retail and the environment. Read on to discover what makes each leader a Retail Sustainability Award winner.
EXPLORE AWARD WINNERS
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Awards
2023 Retail
Retail Sustainability Leadership Award REI Co-op
Retail Sustainability Initiative of the Year The Coca-Cola Co.’s Dasani’s transition to rPET
Retail Sustainability Partnership Award Fossil Group and Big Thought
Supply Chain Team of the Year Hy-Vee Inc.
Retail Sustainability Technology Implementation Award Tapestry Inc.
By Elizabeth Christenson
RIS News is pleased to honor Desta Raines, Sephora’s director of sustainability, with the 2023 Retail Sustainability Leader of the Year Award. For the past two and a half years, Desta Raines has been the director of sustainability at Sephora and championed the implementation and integration of expanded sustainability efforts across all of Sephora’s North American retail stores, corporate facilities and distribution centers. She also spearheads initiatives to ensure alignment and achievement of the LVMH LIFE360 sustainability goals, focusing on supplier and consumer engagement, third-party risk, circular economy, energy, recycling, diversity and belonging, diverse spend, environmental and social governance, global alignment, and partnerships. RIS News: What sustainable practice have you deployed that you consider your biggest accomplishment to date in your current role at your current company? Raines: Launching the Beauty (Re)Purposed empties collection program across all our stores in North America has been exciting and is the most visible consumer-facing sustainability initiative Sephora North America has put in place to date. Sephora is partnering with Pact, a nonprofit collective dedicated to giving empties a second life, since most beauty packaging cannot be recycled in curbside programs. As the first major beauty retailer to join Pact Collective and the largest prestige beauty omni-retailer in the U.S. and Canada, Sephora is using its market position to educate consumers and help divert waste from landfills. RIS News: What new sustainable initiatives are you currently developing? Raines: Our sustainability goals are aligned with the LVMH Life 360 environmental performance roadmap which has set 2023, 2026 and 2030 targets. Some of which we are ahead on. For example, all our stores, distribution centers and offices in both the U.S. and Canada are run on renewable energy. Others we are just starting to figure out where we can have the most meaningful impact and understanding what actions we can take to get there. We are putting in place cross-functional task forces, and it will be the employees of Sephora that make it possible for us to meet our goals. RIS News: What sustainable initiative do you think will have the biggest impact on business in the near future? Raines: It’s no secret that the changing global climate is making profound impacts in everything that we do. One of the most valuable things that Sephora and other companies can do is to work together to address climate change. No single company can do this on their own. That is why Sephora, as part of LVMH, is fortunate to be able to collaborate with other companies that are part of the group on this. We also have the chance to partner through industry associations and other organizations, like Pact Collective, to scale our impact beyond just us.
Celebrating a senior sustainability leader who inspires their team, drives progress and is focused on delivering impactful long-term growth.
individual Award
Desta Raines director of sustainability Sephora
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Sustainability is a pillar of REI Co-op’s business, and RIS News is proud to award REI Co-op the 2023 Retail Sustainability Leadership Award. REI Co-op’s Isabelle Portilla shares how the retailer is working to elevate and advance its work in sustainability. Isabelle Portilla has served in many leadership roles through her six years at REI Co-op and was most recently appointed to vice president of Co-op Brands this spring. In her current role as vice president, she is leading the acceleration of Co-op Brands’ growth to the largest, most sustainable and inclusive brand in the retailer’s assortment. Portilla is a transformational product leader with 18 years of expertise in the outdoor and active industries. Portilla builds teams that effectively incorporate data research, and inclusive design principles. She has a track record of building and evolving brands through realizing their products' highest potential. RIS News: What sustainable practice has REI deployed that you consider your biggest accomplishment to date? Portilla: We’re focused on meeting our 2030 climate targets, which call for reducing our emissions by 55% from a 2019 baseline. To do that, REI implemented its Product Impact Standards to provide a platform to help advance more sustainable and inclusive business practices with thousands of brand partners we work with to address our most significant impacts on the products we make and the supply chains behind them. First introduced in 2018 — and updated earlier this year — the most recent version includes elevated expectations requiring all brands to measure their greenhouse gas emissions and set reduction targets, new expectations to advance equity across outdoor gear and apparel, and updated chemicals management expectations. Our in-house brand experience in design and development of quality outdoor gear and apparel of over 50 plus years, with current lines including REI Co-op and Co-op Cycles, allows the co-op to leverage our own product creation to inform our product impact standards as well as provides valuable insights so we can support our partners on their sustainability journey. RIS News: What new sustainable initiatives are REI currently developing? Portilla: We’re always looking to elevate and advance our own work in this space. This year, we celebrated our 10th anniversary of running our operations on 100% renewable energy by revealing a new commitment to power every store with locally generated renewable energy and supporting clean energy projects that also benefit homeowners, renters and small businesses in those communities. We’ll continue to advance our own work and share both our progress and learnings with our community along the way. RIS News: What sustainable initiatives do you think will have the biggest impact on your business' ESG goals in the near future? Portilla: Two initiatives we are focused on to help meet our climate targets are growing our Re/Supply offering and driving further innovation in our manufacturing process. REI’s Re/Supply offering, a used gear platform available to REI Co-op members to trade-in gear they are no longer using, or purchase gear at a reduced price point. Buying gently used products instead of new can reduce carbon emissions of 50% or more. Since launching, we continue to be encouraged by what we see from both brand and customer adoption, as well as the quality and variety of gear available through the program. This platform has also helped lower barriers of entry for new, younger, diverse, customers wanting to try a new outdoor activity. We’re rapidly growing the size of this program and just opened our second standalone Re/Supply store. In addition, since product manufacturing is the single biggest piece of our carbon footprint, it will be critical to continue to engage our suppliers. This year, we conducted climate trainings with suppliers and are working with them to create action plans in pursuit of their emissions reduction targets. Going forward, we plan to continue our focus on expanding clean energy in manufacturing regions and decarbonizing manufacturing processes across key parts of our supply chain.
Isabelle Portilla Vice President Co-op Brands REI Co-op
Awarding a retailer and/or consumer goods manufacturer who has clearly demonstrated that sustainability is a core business objective.
The Coca-Cola Co. not only looks to create products that people love, but the brand also strives to do so in sustainable ways. In line, Dasani’s transition to rPET was awarded the 2023 Retail Sustainability Initiative of the Year. RIS News spoke with The Coca-Cola Co.’s James Snyder about how the brand is leveraging its scale and reach to achieve positive change. James Snyder is the director of sustainability — value creation for The Coca-Cola Co.’s North America Operating Unit. Snyder has worked at The Coca-Cola Co. for 10 years and held various positions in supply chain, revenue growth management and now sustainability. In his role, James partners with cross-functional stakeholders across the business to develop, plan and execute strategic projects that drive toward the achievement of the company’s World Without Waste, water and climate goals. RIS News: Please tell us about The Coca-Cola's Co.'s transition to rPET. Snyder: To help build a sustainable pipeline of high-quality material, we work with communities to boost PET recycling and collection, collaborate with recycling partners, and secure rPET to help ensure material for our bottles is used again and again. Last summer, Dasani introduced bottles made from 100% recycled plastic across the U.S. and Canada. This innovation spans individual 20-ounce, 1-liter and 1.5-liter Dasani bottles and 10-ounce and 12-ounce multipacks in the U.S. and followed the successful launch of 100% rPET Coca-Cola in New York, California and Texas. RIS News: How is the transition to rPET continuing this year? What do you hope it will accomplish? Snyder: Bottles made with 100% recycled plastic create and sustain a circular economy for PET through recycling efforts. The circular economy is critical to ensuring that plastic waste stays out of the environment and is instead continuously recycled and reused. By moving to 100% rPET bottles across the U.S. and Canada, Dasani expects to save over 20 million pounds of new plastic — the equivalent of 552 million bottles — in 2023 alone. This year, we are further expanding the usage of 100% rPET in Coca-Cola trademark products across the U.S. and Canada. RIS News: What are The Coca-Cola Co.'s long-term goals for this initiative? Snyder: Our introduction of 100% recycled plastic packaging falls under our sustainable packaging initiative: World Without Waste. The 100% rPET initiative supports both Dasani’s pledge to remove the equivalent of 2 billion virgin plastic bottles from production by 2027 compared to 2021 levels and the company’s World Without Waste goal to use at least 50% recycled material in its bottles and cans by 2030. The introduction of bottles made from 100% recycled plastic will advance The Coca-Cola Co.’s ambitions to reduce virgin packaging and offer sustainable solutions at scale. Our ability to use 100% rPET in Dasani across the U.S. and Canada is a direct result of consumers’ sustained commitment to recycling, therefore extending the life cycle of packaging and contributing to the circular economy. RIS News: Do you have any other continuation plans for this initiative that you could share? Snyder: As we work toward our goal of making 100% of our packaging recyclable globally by 2025, we will continue to expand 100% rPET offerings across our portfolio to promote a circular economy and educate consumers on the power of recycling.
Retail Sustainability Initiative of the Year Dasani’s transition to rPET
Celebrating an organization that has launched or completed a major initiative, product or service that significantly improves their corporate sustainability or provides eco-friendly market alternatives.
James Snyder director of sustainability – value creation The Coca-Cola Co.
The Fossil Group and Big Thought were awarded the 2023 Retail Sustainability Partnership Award. The Fossil Group’s Hollie Neal Morgan and Kara Devia shared how the Fossil Group and Big Thought, a nonprofit organization dedicated to youth development through creative learning, have created innovative programs that uplift and empower young individuals facing socio-economic challenges. As the senior creative director at Fossil Group, Hollie Neal Morgan oversees the development of creative strategies, brand voice and brand image. She specializes in distilling complex ideas into strong messages that are easy to understand and remember. Her leadership focuses on synchronizing creativity with strategic intent, in service of elevating Fossil’s brand voice and image in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Morgan also serves as the president of the Fossil Foundation, a global nonprofit whose mission is to unlock the power of the rising generation. She is committed to creating a more equitable world — working to remove barriers and advance systems-level change so all young people can thrive. Kara DeVita leads corporate social responsibility at Fossil Group and is also the executive director of the Fossil Foundation. In her role, DeVita is responsible for global operations of Fossil Group’s community engagement programs and partnerships; the oversight of environmental, social and governance strategic commitments; and the Fossil Foundation. DeVita led the creation and coordination of the retailer’s first corporate responsibility report in 2022. She is charged with ongoing updates to the Executive Sustainability Leadership Council and to the Fossil Group board of directors. RIS News: Please tell us about your socially sustainable partnership with Big Thought. Morgan and DeVita: Since 2010, Fossil Group and Fossil Foundation have been proud supporters of Big Thought and their mission to equip youth in marginalized communities with the skills and tools they need to imagine and create their best lives and a better world. We have supported Big Thought with financial and in-kind gifts, signature volunteer events, capacity building and strategic board leadership. This has helped Big Thought positively impact over 60,000 young lives. Our partnership with Big Thought aligns with Fossil Group’s commitment to fostering sustainable communities and Fossil Foundation’s mission to unlock the power of the rising generation. RIS News: What are Fossil Group's long-term social sustainability goals? Morgan and DeVita: Making an impact has been central to Fossil Group for over 30 years. We issued our first Corporate Responsibility Report last year. The strategic framework for our Corporate Responsibility is called Make Time for Good. Our Net Zero Roadmap is underway in partnership with the Science Based Targets organization. Our goals and progress will be published later this year featuring our most recent highlights. RIS News: What socially sustainable initiative do you think will have the biggest positive impact on your business ESG goals in the near future? Morgan and DeVita: Continuing our focus on prioritizing the environmental impacts in partnership with and aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals will have the biggest positive impact. We recognize that time is finite for each of us, and we are mindful of the limited nature of the resources we use to create our products and the impact of our work on communities and our people.
Showcasing innovative collaborations between two organizations who have worked together to address a key environmental or social issue.
Hollie Neal Morgan senior creative director Fossil Group Inc.
Kara DeVita senior director corporate social responsibility Fossil Group Inc.
executive director Fossil Foundation
president Fossil Foundation
Hy-Vee was selected to be honored with the 2023 Retail Supply Chain Team of the Year Award. RIS News chatted with Hy-Vee’s Jason Farver about how the Midwest-based grocer is committed to doing its part to protect the environment through a number of sustainability initiatives, including in the supply chain. Jason Farver oversees several areas across Hy-Vee, including the retailer’s manufacturing and supply chain operations — which include three distribution centers — as well as Hy-Vee’s retail media network, Red Media. Jason joined Hy-Vee’s leadership team in 2021 as president of Hy-Vee’s subsidiary, Perishable Distributors of Iowa, and a senior vice president of Hy-Vee, bringing more than two decades of experience in lean and agile manufacturing, Kaizen methodology and project management. Later that year, he was promoted to executive vice president, chief technology officer and eventually took over responsibility for Red Media. Jason assumed his current role in 2023. RIS News: What sustainable practice has Hy-Vee's supply chain team deployed that you consider your biggest accomplishment to date? Farver: Our supply chain team is continually focused on improving efficiency and reducing waste across our operations. One of our proudest accomplishments is our True Zero Waste certification. All three of our distribution centers have been True Zero Waste certified for several years now, which means that more than 99% of all waste from their facilities was diverted from landfills in the past year — which is an outstanding achievement for facilities of these size. Maintaining a certification of this kind requires continual vigilance as an organization and demonstrates our team’s overall commitment to sustainability. RIS News: What new sustainable initiatives are Hy-Vee's supply chain team currently developing? Farver: As a company, we continue to invest in solar energy to help offset our electrical usage. Most recently, we added solar panels to a new warehouse addition, and we have plans to continue investing in solar energy over the next several years, which include large-scale installations. In our transportation operations, we closely monitor the fuel efficiency of our entire fleet and have increased the average miles per gallon by nearly 4% since 2020. We’ve also invested in five electric yard trucks across our distribution center campuses, which not only reduce fuel usage but also provide greater reliability in Midwestern weather. RIS News: What sustainable initiative do you think will have the biggest impact on your supply chain team's ESG goals in the near future? Farver: Solar energy and alternative fuel will continue to play an impactful role in our team’s future sustainability efforts. As more advanced technology comes to market, more opportunities will become available to reduce our electrical usage and to make us more fuel efficient as we move product across our distribution channels and to our more than 285 retail stores. Our team has made great strides in this area already, but there is still much opportunity ahead.
Donation Center
Recognizes an innovative team that shares a clear purpose and works collaboratively to develop and execute new ideas and/or processes to effect sustainable change.
Jason Farver executive vice president, chief supply chain officer Hy-Vee Inc.
RIS News is pleased to honor Tapestry Inc. with the 2023 Retail Sustainability Technology Implementation Award. Tapestry’s Ashish Parmar shares how Tapestry IT’s innovative solutions have helped identify and deliver on the retailer’s ESG opportunities and objectives. With more than 20 years of leadership and technology experience across luxury retail, logistics, and consumer electronics, Ashish Parmar for the past three years has served as Tapestry's chief information officer. As a member of the executive committee, he is responsible for the group's technology strategy, leading information security and technology operations, and overseeing the data science and analytics function. He has been named as Forbes 50 Innovative Technology Leaders and a 2023 Business Transformation 150 Executives by Constellation Research. RIS News: What innovative sustainable technology solutions has Tapestry IT deployed that you consider your biggest accomplishment to date in your current role at your current company? Parmar: At Tapestry, sustainability is core to our DNA. We believe a better made future is not only possible but a business imperative. Our ESG framework — the Fabric of Change — encompasses our ESG goals and technology is a key enabler in meeting those targets. While we celebrate our progress, Tapestry is on a journey toward being a more sustainable company. And our systems architecture is advancing our ESG efforts. For example, the recent launch of Coachtopia, the first fully circular sub-brand from Coach, features NFC-based technology to track our products’ circularity journey and is supported by custom cloud solutions. RIS News: What are Tapestry IT team's long-term sustainable goals? Parmar: At Tapestry we strive to move at the speed of the consumer. Sustainability is top of mind for customers, so we want to make sure we are meeting those expectations. For Tapestry IT, this means building solutions that support the aspirations of our brands to become part of the solution of achieving a more sustainable and responsible company. Our success is closely tied to being transparent and tracking our progress. Ensuring our data is clean and consistent is crucial to measuring progress against our ESG goals. And reporting that progress to our key stakeholders and the public is the only way to be transparent about our journey. RIS News: What sustainable tech initiative do you think will have the biggest impact on your business' ESG goals in the near future? Parmar: As we realize our vision for a better made future, we are advancing our technology into an ESG platform by leveraging cloud architecture and developing proprietary and industry-hosted solutions. I see us enhancing our tracking and reporting, leveraging our enterprise data-lake and advanced analytics capabilities for ESG dashboards and insights. We’ll keep investing in new technologies that help us meet our ESG goals and, perhaps most critically, our talent will continue to bring our aspirations to life and stretch what’s possible at Tapestry.
Celebrating a retailer or consumer goods manufacturer who has successfully leveraged technology to help drive sustainability within their organization.
Ashish Parmar chief information officer Tapestry Inc.
RIS News is pleased to award Southeastern Grocers with the 2023 Retail Sustainability Transparency Award. At Southeastern Grocers (SEG), we are committed to providing our customers with fresh, high-quality products while also working to eliminate food waste in our communities. We use expiration date management software to identify upcoming expired products and ensure our stores sell through all inventory by either marking items down or rotating products effectively. We also utilize cutting-edge technologies, such as AI and machine-learning, to forecast demand and optimize on-shelf availability. These innovative methods allow us to minimize food waste and ensure our customers have access to the freshest products. We donate any safe, eligible unsold product to our local food banks to nourish those in need. Additionally, our waste service provider installed i-Waste, intelligent boxes to monitor the fullness of our dumpsters and help eliminate unnecessary pickups. We regularly measure results from our current processes to identify opportunities for improvement while also monitoring new technologies which could be implemented to enhance practices. We share our progress in sustainability, community engagement and values-driven operations in our annual environmental, social and governance report. Our report is part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, providing our customers, investors and stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of SEG’s approach to sustainability and social responsibility. Additionally, we regularly share sustainable practices and reminders with our associates through our internal communications and company newsletters. RIS News: What sustainable practice have you deployed that you consider your biggest accomplishment to date? SEG: Our biggest accomplishment to date in sustainable practices is the implementation of expiration date management software. This software helps us identify upcoming expired products and enables our stores to sell through all inventory efficiently. By using this technology, we significantly reduce food waste and ensure that our customers have access to fresh, high-quality products. RIS News: What sustainable initiative do you think will have the biggest impact on business in the near future? SEG: Looking ahead, we believe that the implementation of intelligent waste management solutions, such as the i-Waste intelligent boxes for monitoring dumpster fullness, will have a big impact on our business. By efficiently managing waste pickups and reducing unnecessary trips, we can lower our environmental footprint and operating costs simultaneously. RIS News: Why do you think transparency is so important for sustainability initiatives to thrive? SEG: Transparency is vital for sustainability initiatives to thrive because it fosters trust and accountability. By openly sharing our sustainability practices, progress and ESG report with our customers and stakeholders, we demonstrate our commitment to responsible business practices. Transparency allows for external validation of our efforts and holds us accountable for meeting our sustainability goals. Additionally, it helps build a positive brand reputation and fosters long-term relationships with our customers, who are increasingly prioritizing sustainability when making decisions about where to shop.
Recognizing a company who has clearly demonstrated the importance of up-front, honest and transparent communications about their company's impact on the environment and their sustainability programs.
Southeastern Grocers
