Thought-Leadership Piece
CEO: Lauren R. Hobart – President & Chief Executive Officer
I have been at the helm of DICK’S Sporting Goods for eight years. During my time here, I have prioritized advancing the company’s sustainability efforts. The current retail industry is riddled with problems that continue to harm our planet and go unaddressed. Thus, the future of retail needs to be more sustainable. Through our packaging, product materials, and recycling program, our company is quickly becoming a leader in the sustainability movement. As one of the largest retailers in the world, we recognize that we use many plastic bags in our stores, which end up in landfills and take years to decompose. We chose to make a change, giving customers the option to use recyclable plastic bags, 100% post-consumer recycled paper bags, or reusable bags.
Additionally, we are committed to recycling all the material we can to reduce waste and CO2 emissions. For instance, we have recycled 43,000 tons of essential cardboard, plastics, and metals, which are the base materials our business heavily relies on. Instead of sending these materials to the landfill, we are choosing to recycle them, which allows us to continue meeting our business needs while making the most of the same materials. DICK’S Sporting Goods hopes to set a standard that other leaders will follow in the industry to have a bigger, long-lasting impact.
One way we are implementing sustainability in our business is to eliminate all plastic bags from our stores. By reducing plastic use in our stores, we can have a more positive impact on the environment by reducing plastic waste. Our goal is for this simple change to spread across the industry, reducing plastic in our environment and lessening harm to the planet. We want to lead by example and inspire our peers to follow suit, eliminating all plastic bags in the retail industry. In addition to making changes to our bag and packing policy, we also offer clothing made from recyclable, sustainable materials. Thanks to the recycled fibers used in many of our products, we are able to produce without a major contribution to retail material waste. We have emphasized using recycled cotton and wool materials so that clothing made with fewer resources still meets our high standards. DICK’S Sporting Goods is committed to finding new ways to be a sustainable company throughout our supply chain and retail locations across the country. Please feel free to learn more about our commitment to sustainability through the “OUR IMPACT” page on the DICK’S Sporting Goods website.
Strategy Note: The thought leadership piece makes sense for Lauren R. Hobart, the President & Chief Executive Officer, because she has been a champion of sustainability in the retail industry during her time at DICK’S Sporting Goods. She has pushed the company to increase its recycling efforts, reduce its carbon footprint and help fight climate change. This piece will be a summary of what she has done as a leader over the past 8 years in sustainability, along with what she hopes the company will do in the next 5-10 years as they continue to make sustainability a core part of their business model.