We have long been active in the area of recycling, but these efforts were not always consistent across our business. These "gaps" were due in part to a lack of municipality-supported recycling programs or lack of commercially available recycling in some regions. In the past, many of our passionate and dedicated employees helped fill these gaps, taking the initiative to create recycling programs for their individual stores—some even taking recycling home!

Through a company-wide effort and a national partnership with Smurfit-Stone, we are currently implementing a comprehensive waste management strategy that includes a national focus on recycling programs and efforts aimed at sustainable product and packaging design.

While we have much work still to do, we have already made significant strides on reducing and/or eliminating waste throughout our business. For example, in the past year we have:

• Implemented standardized recycling for base commodities (paper, glass, plastic and cardboard) for all of REI's retail stores
• Starting in California, we established a program to eliminate batteries and fluorescent light bulbs from store waste through recycling
• Joined the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, an industry working group dedicated to developing environmentally-responsible packaging strategies

The Journey Ahead

We will conduct a comprehensive waste stream inventory, complete the roll out of our initial recycling program, identify additional recycling opportunities and make progress in the area of sustainable packaging strategies.

In the next five years, we will strive to reduce our waste to landfill contributions by 50 percent per store, and will implement a variety of strategies to help achieve this important goal.

At REI, we know that the "3-Rs"—Reduce, Reuse and Recycle—can make a huge difference for the environment. By continuing to innovate in these areas and adding a fourth "R"—Redesign—we are working to reduce the amount of waste generated by our business and finding ways to help our employees, members and communities take part.