Contributing to a Sustainable Environment

Our goal is to reduce the impact of our operations on the environment while managing our energy costs. Throughout our stores, fleet and logistics systems, we take a hands-on approach to managing our use of water and energy, recycling the by-products of our retail operations and controlling greenhouse gas emissions.

Current Programs

Waste Diversion in North America

In maintaining a leadership position in waste diversion among North American retailers, HBC has achieved a 61% waste diversion rate in 2018 with a high of 90% in our distribution centers. By adding innovative programs to reduce the amount of waste generated at all locations, HBC is positioning itself to weather difficult recycling market conditions – which it experienced in 2018 – and to achieve its long-term overall diversion target of 80% by 2030.

Additional 2018 highlights include:

• Lowered the waste sent to landfill in Canada by 8% (481.54 MT)
• Reduced the number of waste pick-ups at more than 120 locations through a proven program of monitoring pick-up frequency
• Implemented mixed recycling programs at all possible Canadian locations and are rolling out programs to U.S. locations in 2019
• Installed an EPS densifier, a piece of equipment for processing foam packaging, at the Vancouver Logistic Centre which has transformed foam packaging waste from a disposal expense to a revenue generator and helped the facility achieve a 95% diversion rate

HBC's GHG Emissions - Energy Efficiency

Through our energy efficiency efforts in our stores and distribution centers, HBC has been working to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. As of 2018, we have achieved an absolute reduction of 8% of our 2014 baseline, which is very close to our 2020 goal of a 10% decrease.