Best Buy customers love upgrading their electronics and appliances to keep up with the latest technology. But that also means getting rid of 
the old stuff.
California-based Electronic Recyclers International (ERI) has been one of Best Buy’s trusted recycling partners for nearly a decade. It handles millions of old products our customers bring in. We sat down with ERI Executive Chairman John Shegerian to get his thoughts on a service industry that didn’t exist just 15 years ago.
Earth Month might be over, but at Best Buy, we think about our environmental footprint every day of the year. In addition, we help our customers live more sustainably, including offering a convenient place to responsibly recycle unwanted electronics.
Before you bring in your items for recycling, check to see if your tech still has value with our Trade-In Calculator. Depending on the item, Best Buy might give you a gift card for your used tech, which will then be re-sold giving the product a new life.
On Saturday, millions of people around the world will celebrate Earth Day, bringing added awareness to efforts to protect our planet. But that’s a year-round focus for Laura Bishop, Best Buy’s chief corporate responsibility and sustainability officer, and her team.
Laura joined Best Buy in 2003 to help launch the company’s government relations team, a role in which she helped shape environmental recycling laws across the country. She has led the company’s sustainability efforts for the past three-and-a-half years and recently was promoted to her current role.
Whether your office is at home or in a shared space, there are many easy changes you can make to reduce your workplace’s impact on the earth. By using more energy efficient products and by recycling devices you no longer use, you can make your office more sustainable. Feel good about reducing your impact, while saving money.
For a more sustainable office, follow these five tips.
An ENERGY STAR®, that is. ENERGY STAR products are certified to use less energy than standard models.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named Best Buy a Gold Tier Award Winner at the agency’s National Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Program Electronics Challenge ceremonies in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
The EPA distinction recognizes our commitment to electronics recycling, transparent management practices and consumer education throughout 2014. In that year alone, we sent 61,000 tons of electronics to certified recyclers. Recycling that amount is equal to taking 31,000 passenger vehicles off the road for a whole year.
Our recycling program is a key part of a larger Best Buy product stewardship story.
This week we introduced changes in our in-store recycling program that allow us to continue to provide this service for our customers.
We are now charging customers $25 for each TV and computer monitor they recycle at our stores. And in two states – Illinois and Pennsylvania – we are no longer recycling these particular products because of laws that prevent us from collecting fees to help run our program. All other products – such as batteries, ink cartridges, computers, printers and hundreds of other items – continue to be recycled for free at all of our stores.
It’s not easy being green, a wise frog once said. But shouldn’t it be easy?
At Best Buy, we believe being sustainable is good for business, and we have proof. Contrary to the old adage that it costs more to be “green” – it really can save money. Our recent 20% carbon reduction attainment saved Best Buy more than $50 million. Our leaders get it – they made sustainability a priority even through the Company’s turnaround.
It’s also easy to say you’re a “green” company.
We are a big fan of ENERGY STAR® products – they save our customers money and they help the environment by using less energy. And we are proud to say that ENERGY STAR likes us, too.
The Environmental Protection Agency named Best Buy 2015 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – for the second year in a row.
Here are a few ways that we spread the good word about ENERGY STAR:
MINNEAPOLIS – June 20, 2013: Best Buy is consistently recognized for its sustainability leadership by the retail and consumer electronics industries. With today’s release of the company’s Fiscal 2013 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report, Best Buy further demonstrates its continued leadership role in positively impacting the world.
We hope you find this information useful. To view the full report, please visit www.bby.com/sustainability.
Media Contact:
Jeremy Baier
jeremy.baier@bestbuy.com