Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Furniture retailer City Furniture has set the complex operational goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040. Its 2040 Green Promise goal encompasses the company’s showrooms, warehouses and offices, its statewide delivery fleet and recycling initiatives, according to firm President Andrew Koenig.
The company leads the U.S. furniture industry with 240,000 square feet of LEED-certified showroom space and is converting its delivery truck fleet to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of diesel fuel. Operating the industry’s greenest fleet, Koenig’s team expects delivery of five all-electric Tesla Semi trucks in the near future. In-house recycling equipment annually keeps 6 million pounds of cardboard, plastic and Styrofoam waste out of landfills.
“We’re all about helping people create and take care of home, and there’s no home that needs more care than our planet,” says Koenig. “That means investing long term in innovations that reduce our carbon footprint, improve operations and create a greener future.”
City Furniture is an early leader among Florida-based firms making a time-certain pledge to achieve net zero carbon emissions. Regional retailers must take green commitments to the next level for their brands’ health and the environment, Koenig explains. “Our customers expect us to lead positive change in the communities we serve,” he says. “With fresh ideas and by taking intelligent risks, Florida companies can create scalable green approaches.”
Operating six Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified showrooms, City Furniture will nearly double its green-designed showroom area to 460,000 square feet by the end of this year, with the opening of two new Florida superstores.
Achieving carbon neutrality demands operational advances, Koenig notes. “By 2040, we plan to run many showrooms on renewable energy to offset our electric use,” he says. The company’s 29-store network continues growing throughout Florida.
Koenig is overseeing transformation of the company’s delivery fleet to trucks running on USA-produced CNG, and the firm invested $1.4 million in a CNG fueling station at its 900,000-square-foot headquarters and distribution center in Tamarac, Fla. The retailer has logged over 12 million miles with the clean-running trucks since 2014 — cutting greenhouse emissions by 45%, while saving more than 60% on fuel costs.
City Furniture recycles 98% of its waste stream, condensing 5.5 million pounds of cardboard and 500,000 pounds of plastic and Styrofoam annually.
SOURCE: City Furniture