United States
Our Responsible Store Design Program
Our Responsible Store Design Program
The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has long recognized that our retail footprint creates a unique opportunity to support progress on our environmental targets and we remain committed to engaging our consumers in our sustainability journey. In fiscal year 2020, ELC finalized its internal Green Building Standards for all of our spaces. These standards serve as a road map to help new construction and major renovations incorporate sustainability principles into their design, setting a baseline for practices covering energy, water, waste, and indoor air quality. Building on these standards, the Responsible Store Design program is the pinnacle of our retail sustainability journey to date.
In support of our commitments, this program provides a framework for assessing new and existing retail stores globally. The parameters for the assessment include design of our visual merchandising across a variety of sustainability-related areas including waste reduction, water and energy conservation, and responsible material sourcing. The program criteria, which has been deemed a meaningful evaluation of green building standards, was developed with the assistance of a sustainability consulting firm with expertise in green building design.
How Does It Work?
To engage in the program, participating brands must meet all relevant program prerequisites, which vary based on the retail space and store type. For both new stores and existing stores, these requirements span store build-out, energy and water, responsible sourcing of materials, visual merchandising, store operations, and innovation. As part of the store review, ELC works with several independent firms to audit the sustainable practices implemented across our retail spaces.
New stores are evaluated on a point-based scoring system, with each individual location evaluated based on various sustainability efforts across retail design and operations.
For existing stores and visual merchandising, a checklist of prerequisites ensures each location meets core sustainability requirements.
New Stores
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New Stores
Prerequisites for the program include developing waste management plans for store build-out, installing energy- and water-efficient technologies and fixtures, responsibly sourcing store materials, and responsibly designing visual merchandising. Additionally, through ELC’s Virtual Power Purchasing Agreement (VPPA), all freestanding stores are leveraging renewable energy to power their stores.
Prerequisites for new stores:
- Have a waste management plan in place for store build-out to reduce waste to landfill
- Install energy-efficient technologies, like LED lighting and ENERGY STAR-rated equipment, to reduce energy use in store fixtures and visual merchandising
- Install water-efficient plumbing fixtures to reduce water use
- Source all store fixtures and materials in alignment with ELC’s Thoughtful Material standards
- Design visual merchandising that is free of virgin acrylic materials
- Have recycling readily available on-site for employees and customers
Existing Stores
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Existing Stores
While the Responsible Store Design framework for new stores uses a point system for participation, existing stores must meet all requirements to participate in the program, as many point-earning opportunities for new stores, like store build-out and construction, are not relevant for existing stores.
Prerequisites for existing stores:
- Install energy-efficient technologies, like LED lighting and ENERGY STAR-rated equipment, to reduce energy use in store fixtures and visual merchandising
- Install water-efficient plumbing fixtures to reduce water use
- Source all store fixtures and materials in alignment with ELC’s Thoughtful Material standards
- Design visual merchandising that is free of virgin acrylic materials
- Have recycling readily available on-site for employees and customers
- Develop a cleaning program for the store using Ecolab-certified products (or an equivalent certification), which ensures all cleaning products are free of hazardous chemicals
- Create a store closing procedure that turns off non-essential lights and equipment to reduce energy use
- Provide customers with responsible in-store applicators made from responsible materials, like bamboo, paper, and/or recycled materials
Visual Merchandising
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Visual Merchandising
Relevant visual merchandising must meet all prerequisites and at least one end-of-life requirement in order to participate in the program. This allows ELC spaces like department store counters and displays in multi-channel retailers to be included in the Responsible Store Design program.
Prerequisites for visual merchandising:
- Use energy-efficient technologies, like LED lighting and ENERGY STAR-rated equipment, to reduce energy use in visual merchandising
- Design visual merchandising that is free of virgin acrylic
- Ensure that other display elements are sourced in alignment with ELC’s Responsible Material standards, which include prioritizing the use of curbside recyclable materials wherever possible, incorporating post-consumer recycled materials, and using responsibly sourced fibers
End-of-life requirements for visual merchandising (must meet at least one):
- Implement a partnership to reclaim and recycle visual merchandising
- Design visual merchandising with no integrated lighting to reduce energy use and improve recyclability
- Design visual merchandising using only materials that are easily recycled in curbside systems
- Minimize visual merchandising packaging to reduce waste
- Design visual merchandising without the use of any acrylic to improve recyclability
Questions?
Questions?
Contact us at [email protected] to learn more.