Our Vision
As a company dedicated to improving the lives of pets and Pet Parents, we are committed to being environmentally conscious by developing innovative and sustainable approaches for our unique resource needs.
Message from Our Chairman & CEO
At PetSmart, environmental sustainability is about finding ways to endure. It's about redesigning our work in ways that help us realize our potential and protect our environment at the same time. It's about getting rid of work that doesn't benefit us or our surroundings, and finding new, more sensitive ways to do the work that sustains us. It's about using less, and being more efficient.
With that in mind, I'm pleased to introduce our Environmental Sustainability Report. This year's report demonstrates our work in delivering on our commitment to being an environmentally responsible company.
In the report you will learn more about:
- Our Think Twice™ platform
- The four components of Sustainability at PetSmart
- Our Carbon and Sustainability Footprinting for 2009 and 2010
- The projects we have undertaken to be a more sustainable company
- The steps we are taking to inspire and engage our associates with regard to sustainability
We believe environmental sustainability opportunities inspire innovation and reduce our environmental impact while often times creating value for our Pet Parents and our shareholders. We know that sustainability is a lifelong commitment and are excited to see progress and improvements throughout the company.
As you read this report, I hope it inspires you to think of ways to drive sustainability in your personal and professional lives.
Think Twice,
Bob Moran
Think Twice™
Doing something differently requires a conscious effort.
Think Twice™ was created at PetSmart to illuminate, inspire and involve associates in environmental sustainability. It's built on the idea that doing something different requires a conscious effort. It's a down to earth concept that asks associates to "think twice" before doing what they might normally do. It challenges us to make different, more sustainable decisions. It can be as simple as recycling a water bottle, choosing to refill one, or not purchasing one at all. Building on simple changes, we can create a culture of environmental sustainability. This will allow us to pursue bigger opportunities to "think twice."
What is Sustainability?
You've probably seen and heard many of these terms associated with "sustainability." But what is it really? The most common definition of sustainability is to "meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Sustainability is the over arching concept, or umbrella, under which four equal components reside. Cultural, Economic, Environmental and Social considerations all play an equally important role in achieving sustainability.
But this is an Environmental Sustainability Report, right? Yes, this report specifically addresses the impacts that PetSmart has on the environment to support our business and, more importantly, what we're doing to address impacts. Any decisions we make must take into consideration the other three components.
Sustainability at PetSmart
Cultural Sustainability
It's about intangible threads that drive and define us as a company. Diversity is far more than race, age, gender, sexual orientation, abilities and national origin; but also language, culture, ideas and life experience! These qualities and the perspectives we bring to PetSmart as individuals, make us a stronger, more well-rounded "we."
Economic Sustainability
We believe in doing the right things to delight our customers, improve store productivity, drive differentiation and consistently promote shareholder value.
Environmental Sustainability
We believe we can reduce environmental dependencies and create business value through sustainable practices. Our goal is to create simple, informative and engaging ways to consider the environment in everything we do.
Social Sustainability
We believe in a broader and longer-term perspective when considering the impacts we have outside of PetSmart's four walls. It's about creating positive impacts in the communities in which we operate. We do this through PetSmart Charities®, our adoption partners, the United Way and volunteering. It's doing the right thing even when no one is looking.
Our Journey to Date
In the following pages, you'll get a look at our journey from awareness and commitment to environmental sustainability. It is important that each effort we undertake reduces environmental dependencies and creates business value.
Environmental Sustainability Footprinting
To understand the impact PetSmart has on natural resources, we took a holistic approach and included the baseline assessment of energy/carbon, water, waste and recycling. Our first footprint calculation was in 2008, and also included 2007 data. We've recently updated this information for 2009 and 2010.
From this, we're able to see opportunities for improvement. Carbon footprinting has several emerging protocols. We chose the Climate Registry to calculate our carbon impacts across all operations. It's a nonprofit organization that establishes consistent, transparent standards throughout North America for businesses and governments to calculate their carbon footprints in a single, unified manner. Unlike carbon reporting, there are no industry specific protocols for measuring and reporting on water, waste and recycling efforts. You'll find throughout this report we have chosen specific key metrics to track and report, including water consumption, waste production, and recycling efforts within our business.
In this report we've identified six Sustainable Priorities to reduce our environmental impacts:
- Energy/Carbon
- Recycling
- Waste
- Water
- Green Products & Partnerships
- Associate Engagement
Data that represents our impacts are included in each section, and success stories of what we're doing to reduce those impacts are highlighted.
Sustainability Council
PetSmart created the Sustainability Council to bring together key leaders from each department to discuss how business issues can be solved through sustainable practices. The Council's goals are to evaluate practices and proposals solicited from both inside and outside PetSmart. The Council identifies, prioritizes and supports execution of viable proposals within the business. They promote two-way communication that fosters engagement across the business and act as the subject-matter expert for sustainability for each business unit.
Looking Forward to 2012
What began as a grass roots effort in 2008, has developed into a strategy with a clear commitment to Think Twice™ in everything we do.
As we progress and learn more about our environmental impacts, we will strive to develop innovative and sustainable approaches for our unique resource needs. We will continue to inspire Pet Parents and engage associates by deepening the commitment in our organization. It's a commitment we take seriously, not just because we should, but because we believe it is the right thing to do.