The Case for Proactive Chemicals Management in REI Operations

Abstract

REI’s CSR framework involves seven environmental lenses: climate change, energy use, waste, water, chemicals, land use, and social impacts. REI currently measures, tracks, and systematically reduces its operations level impacts related to: (1) energy use, (2) waste-to-landfill, and (3) tons of CO2E emissions. The SNRE master’s project team worked with REI’s CSR team to define a strategy to address chemicals impacts within operations, and implement a robust management and reduction plan. Project objectives included:

1. Identify key chemicals impacts associated with REI’s operations; 2. Develop a business case for adoption of a company wide chemicals management strategy, to be presented to REI executives; 3. Identify aspirational long term reduction goals, and foundational interim milestones; 4. Define a metric for chemicals impact reduction, if applicable; 5. Prioritize organizational activities aimed at reducing chemicals management impacts; 6. Identify potential organizational barriers to adoption of the chemicals lens and strategies to mitigate or overcome those barriers.

The team used a combination of primary and secondary company and academic research to develop a business case and feasible, effective chemicals management strategy.