Fifty years ago, Dick Schulze opened his first electronics store in St. Paul, Minnesota, called Sound of Music. Under his leadership, this one store grew into the Best Buy that we know today.
Dick, Best Buy’s Founder and Chairman Emeritus, along with his late wife, Sandy, believed that a company is a family. They embedded the spirit of giving back and taking care of one another into the culture of Best Buy. Employees still feel that continued support from our founder today.
At Best Buy, we are continuously looking for opportunities to reduce energy usage and carbon emissions, not just in our stores and distribution centers, but at our corporate office too. As proof of that, for the 11th year, we are proud to announce that the Best Buy corporate office has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification.
Commercial buildings that earn EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Best Buy is committed to helping kids reach their full potential. Our community efforts extend all the way to Shanghai, China, where I work on Best Buy’s private label sourcing team.
We wanted to help our local community and address an issue that we are very passionate about – the environment. Together with Dr. Jane Goodall’s nonprofit, Shanghai Roots & Shoots, we created an environmental education program, called Youth for Environmental Sustainability (YES).
The environment is a critical issue in China, as we have seen pollution increase significantly over the years.
For the second year in a row, Best Buy has been recognized by Office Depot for leadership in green purchasing for our goods not for resale – or products we use to run our business – think office supplies, furniture and cleaning solutions. Best Buy is the only retailer to receive this distinguished award.
Award winners were selected from Office Depot’s largest 1,000 customers based on how much these customers invest in sustainable products. Office Depot calls this “green spend,” a calculation based on products that save energy, avoid waste or use safer chemicals.