Sustainable Distribution at REI

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the December 2016 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

December 2016

It’s December and thus time once again for our annual “Executive Guide to Supply Chain Resources.” This is a comprehensive guide to services, products and educational opportunities targeted specifically to supply chain professionals. As with years past, we’re also featuring several articles we trust will offer food for thought in your supply chain in the coming year.

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The first inkling that REI’s 393,000 square foot, $73 million distribution center in Goodyear, Ariz., is different comes when you walk through trails to get from the parking lot to the facility entrance. It’s no accident that it’s the same experience that a cooperative member might get visiting REI’s flagship store in Seattle that connects members to the outdoors experience.

The second hint comes when you notice that the break room is connected to a botanical garden, where employees can walk through zones of Arizona fauna or play a game of horseshoes. REI also opens 25% of the second floor space for community use.

Or, you might notice the rooftop solar array, which provides the power for a Net Zero Energy facility that leaves no trace as REI would teach in it’s own outdoor school. Or, walking the DC floor, you might feel a gentle movement of air from a cooling system that maintains a relatively constant temperature from floor to ceiling while saving a millions gallons of evaporated water per year, despite outside temperatures that can reach above 115 degrees. Touches like these are among the factors that led to the building becoming the first distribution facility in the United States to earn LEED Platinum certification and Net Zero Energy.

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