REI
At a Glance
Industry
Retail and Apparel
Project Types
Goals/Targets, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy
Year
2023
Location
Scottsdale, AZ
Summary
Reino Hyyppa developed a comprehensive waste management strategy at REI’s Arizona Adventure Center.
Goals
REI Co-op is committed to achieving zero waste to landfill across its operations by 2025. The business brought on Reino to develop a strategy and roadmap for achieving zero waste at its Arizona Adventure Center by establishing a baseline assessment, engaging local stakeholders, and providing strategic recommendations to achieve zero waste.
Solutions
Reino provided a waste management strategy to achieve zero waste to landfill within 8-12 months focused on employee engagement, redesigning processes, reducing waste, and measuring progress. The Arizona Adventure Center will increase waste diversion by 40% as a direct result of Reino’s work and is on track to achieve zero waste to landfill by June 2024.
Reino also created a Zero Waste Operations Guide to provide detailed guidance on creating a tailored waste management strategy at each of REI Experiences sites. Lastly, Reino implemented a streamlined tracking and reporting system that captures waste data from multiple sources, enabling accurate measurements of waste diversion rates and informed waste management decisions.
Potential Impact
Using a combination of waste management solutions including waste reduction, plastic film recycling and composting the Arizona Adventure Center will eliminate between 8 and 10 metric tons of CO2 emissions by preventing waste generation.
As a result, REI Experiences will achieve zero waste and operational efficiency which in turn will retain employees, reduce costs, and improve the guest experience. By achieving greater visibility into waste generation and disposal, the company will be able to make data-driven decisions to support continuous improvements in pursuit of zero waste across its operations.