The Home Depot Announces U.S. Store Energy Savings of 2.6 Billion Kilowatt-Hours Since 2004; Sets Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets for 2015

ATLANTA, March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Home Depot®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, today announced that it has reduced its U.S. store energy use by 2.6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) since 2004 and that it will achieve a 20 percent reduction in kWh per square foot usage in its U.S. stores by 2015. Also, the Company has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its domestic supply chain by 20 percent within the next five years.  

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The Company is in the process of calculating its comprehensive carbon footprint based on the World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development protocol, the emerging standard for government and business leaders to understand, quantify and manage greenhouse gas emissions. The results of the findings will be released in one year's time.

"We continually strive to operate a more efficient business and these efforts enable us to reduce our energy usage and cut our carbon emissions," said Ron Jarvis, vice president of Environmental Innovation for The Home Depot. "While our accomplishments in lowering our store energy use have been significant, we will identify additional ways we can continue the reduction. In addition, the changes we are making to increase productivity in our supply chain will allow us to reduce our transportation greenhouse gas emissions substantially."

U.S. Store Energy Efficiency

During the past six years, The Home Depot has reduced its U.S. stores' energy per square foot consumption by 16 percent. At the start of 2004, The Home Depot's energy usage was 25 kWh per square foot. Through a series of operational programs including the upgrading of store HVAC systems, aligning of stocking hours more closely with store operating hours, use of CFL bulbs and a switch to T5 lighting, the Company's U.S. store energy usage now stands at 21 kWh per square foot. Since these reductions began in 2004, the Company has saved 2.6 billion kWh of energy, which is enough energy to power 203,000 homes for one year.  

Moving forward, the Company believes it can reach 20 kWh per square foot of energy usage by 2015. The stores will continue to gain operational and energy efficiencies through a move from 54 to 49 watt lighting, additional HVAC upgrades, installation of more white roofs and certain locations that have shifted their stocking hours to align more closely with our store operating hours. All of these efforts, representing an additional reduction of approximately five percent from the current usage amounts, will bring the total reduction since 2004 to 20 percent.

Domestic Supply Chain

In addition to store operations efforts, the Company has set a 2015 target to reduce its domestic supply chain greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from its 2008 levels. As the Company continues its supply chain transformation of moving from having predominately supplier-to-store shipments to the utilization of a centralized distribution network, it expects to see an increase in transportation efficiencies.  

The reduction of GHGs from the Company's domestic supply chain during the next five years will be largely the result of more efficient routing, scheduling and the consolidation of shipments to stores. Upon reaching the target, the Company anticipates a reduction of 200 million miles driven per year. This equates to annual fuel savings of 25 million gallons or 8,000 trips around the earth. The Home Depot received the 2009 Environmental Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay(SM) Transport Partnership for its leadership in conserving energy and lowering greenhouse gas emissions from its transportation and freight activities.

The Home Depot is in a unique position among companies that announce environmental goals because, in addition to operational targets, the Company is helping its customers achieve energy savings through its product and service offerings. The sales of more than 90 million ENERGY STAR® products at The Home Depot during 2009 saved customers approximately $740 million on their utility bills last year. These savings were from ENERGY STAR® products such as refrigerators, dishwashers, CFLs, programmable thermostats and water heaters. The sales of more than 6 million WaterSense® labeled bath faucets, aerators and toilets have saved customers at least 1.8 billion gallons of water.

In 2007, the Company introduced Eco Options, its exclusive product category whose items meet certain environmental performance criteria, allowing consumers to identify products that have less of an impact on the environment than traditional products in the same category. Three years later, the program has certified 4,000 products that meet specifications for energy efficiency, water conservation, healthy home, clean air or sustainable forestry.  

In 2010, the Company plans to continue expanding its Eco Options program with new lines of household cleaning products, pesticides and herbicides as well as innovative energy savings products. Further details on these new products will be announced later this year.  

The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,245 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. In fiscal 2009, The Home Depot had sales of $66.2 billion and earnings from continuing operations of $2.6 billion. The Company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index. 

SOURCE The Home Depot