Best Buy to Start Green Construction

Best Buy plans to take a huge step towards green concepts, with plans to begin building eco-friendly store locations starting next year, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal reported last week.

The program, aimed at cutting the stores’ energy use by one third, was first outlined in the retailer’s annual sustainability report, with construction on the first stores set to begin in mid-2008. Best Buy, along with Target, Starbucks, Lowe’s and several other retailers, has been working since last year with the U.S. Green Building Council to establish a new certification program, which will allow chain retailers to have a prototype store certified by the USGBC.

The new stores will include such innovations as energy-efficient lighting, recycled building materials, and new day-lighting systems. Best Buy will also make adjustments at its existing stores.