The home improvement retailer announced on Thursday that its U.S. stores had reduced their energy use by 2.6 billion kilowatt hours since 2004. Among the methods that the store instituted in order to lower their consumption were upgrading retailers' HVAC systems, aligning stocking hours more closely with store operating hours, and using CFL bulbs and T5 lighting.
Using the same methods, the company added that it also expected to reduce its kilowatt-hour usage per square foot in its U.S. stores by 2015.
"We continually strive to operate a more efficient business and these efforts enable us to reduce our energy usage and cut our carbon emissions," said Ron Jarvis, vice president of Environmental Innovation for The Home Depot. "While our accomplishments in lowering our store energy use have been significant, we will identify additional ways we can continue the reduction.
Home Depot also said that it was currently in the process of working with the World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development to calculate its comprehensive carbon footprint.
