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Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
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table of contents
1
2
6
8
11
12
12
15
27
33
41
47
60
61
63
CEO Letter
Company Overview and Approach
Scope of Operations
Our Approach
Corporate Governance, Compliance and Ethics
Corporate Responsibility and Value Creation
Engaging Stakeholders
Connecting with Employees
Connecting with Customers
Connecting with Communities
Connecting with our Exclusive Brands Suppliers
Environmental Sustainability and
the Consumer Electronics Value Chain
Awards and Recognition
For more information about Best Buy’s social and environmental programs,
policies, performance and past reports, go to the sustainability section on
www.bby.com. Please check back frequently as this site will be updated
throughout the year.
To contact Best Buy with questions, concerns or feedback on this
report or any of the programs contained within, please email
newscenter@bestbuy.com
Metric Profile and GRI Index
Appendix
1
from the ceo
Here’s what we know:
1 We learn from challenge and change.
Brian Dunn
Chief Executive Officer
At Best Buy, we hold a set of values very close to our hearts. They are not a bunch of
“ inspirational” ideas written on a poster because they sound good. Instead they are the
result of taking a hard look at ourselves and trying our best to articulate what it is about us
that really defines what we ARE and what is TRUE about us on our best days.
energy and the environment, two topics that represent huge
challenges — and also huge opportunities for human beings.
We’re not just learning; we’re taking action, too. We’re investing
2 We show respect, humility and integrity.
even more aggressively in our recycling efforts, in making our
3 We have fun while being the best.
protect our planet.
4 We unleash the power of our people.
At Best Buy, we believe technology makes the world smaller,
buildings energy-efficient, and a host of other initiatives that help
collapsing distance, shortening learning curves and dissolving
Every one of these values captures an essential element in the
Best Buy makeup, but the last one is especially significant. For
me, unleashing the power of our people captures the core idea
that has always driven Best Buy, and, in my opinion, every great
human organization: that a group of ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things when they work together. In fact,
it’s the only way anything extraordinary ever happens.
We at Best Buy also believe that technology holds the power to
make the world more connected and, in a word, better. But only if
it is created to serve people and the things they care about. That’s
why People and Power are the two dominant themes of this, our
fifth Sustainability report.
how we treat our own people, and we work hard to provide real
opportunities for them. And, as the preeminent retailer of technology — aware that everything we sell quite literally requires power
— we’re also learning as much and as vigorously as we can about
Connected World, made possible by technology. I believe we’ve
only scratched the surface of the positive, transformational
power of technology to serve human beings — not only to connect us, entertain us and make us more productive, but also to
help us solve the daunting sustainability challenges we face.
I am extremely optimistic about the future. It’s my nature. But this
optimism isn’t just my genetic set-point; it comes from my objective observation that once people understand a set of challenges,
they are capable of creating solutions that eventually surpass
anything we can imagine. I can’t wait to see what the future holds,
and I am proud that Best Buy has an opportunity to help shape
it in the most positive way. This report is evidence of our sincere
desire to focus the power of Best Buy’s people to do just that.
Best
Best
Buy
Buy
F’2010
Fiscal
Annual
2010 Sustainability Report
We are a company of, by and for people. We take very seriously
barriers to access and understanding. In short, we believe in a
2
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Company Overview and Approach
Sustainability for Best Buy means placing a focus on people,
technology and the power needed in the connected world.
Our Belief
Our employees are core to our customer-centric
business model and we feel a responsibility to
empower them.
Our Impact
Best Buy has received awards and recognition as a result
of its employee engagement, training and employee-driven
community relations programs.
People
The relationships we build with our customers
allow us to deliver sustainable, innovative
solutions.
Sustainable innovation — both our own and those of our
vendors — has led to more products that help consumers
stay connected.
Our store employees and customers are part
of communities that we support through
donations and local volunteer efforts.
Store teams have volunteered over 124,000 hours in
their communities. This year, Best Buy will give nearly
$7.5 million through Community Grants, Tag Team Awards
and store donations.
No one is more connected in this world than our
teens. We can help them make a difference.
We fund programs to give teens a voice. For example,
the @15 Exchange lets teens choose how to invest
$1 million in their communities.
Technology & Power
We care about human rights across our value chain.
Our vendors and manufacturing partners share our
values and work together with us to make a difference.
Our Belief
Our Impact
As a leader in our industry we engage in
discussions with stakeholders across the
landscape of sustainability.
Improving energy efficiency in our operations
and in our customers’ use of the products we
sell is vital to success in the connected world.
E-waste is a problem for our customers and
for the planet.
We can be a leader in new, innovative, sustainable
solutions.
We continue to converse with stakeholders including the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Alliance to
Save Energy, Ceres, Business for Social Responsibility,
and the Sustainability Consortium, among others.
We set goals for our own operational carbon footprint and we work with customers every day to help
them make more sustainable choices.
We operate the most comprehensive recycling
program in retail. In fiscal 2010, we helped to prevent
more than 140 million pounds of appliances and electronics from ending up in landfills around the world.
We have set a goal to collect 1 billion pounds.
We are experimenting with resource-saving technologies
including smart grid, electric transportation and renewable
energy sources that help address global challenges such as
climate change.
3
Employees
Customers
Investors
Best Buy employees
care deeply about working for a sustainable
company and want to
know how Best Buy is
helping to protect the
planet and support
communities.
Best Buy’s customers
want to feel good about
purchasing products
from a company that
values the environment,
is socially responsible,
participates in their
community and works
to protect their privacy.
Investors are interested in how Best Buy’s social and environmental
strategies manage risk,
fuel enterprise growth
and improve financial
performance.
company values
Non-Government
Organizations
Other
Stakeholders
NGOs seek specific,
transparent information regarding Best Buy
programs, policies and
performance, and how
they may affect social
and environmental
interests.
In addition to these
primary audiences we
hope the information
captured in this report
will be of interest to
many other stakeholders including government organizations,
academics, vendor
partners and those who
live in the communities
where we operate.
Have fun while
being the best
Show respect,
humility and integrity
Learn from challenge
and change
Unleash the power
of our people
To view Best Buy’s Code of Business Ethics for employees please go to
bby.com/cmn/files/BBY_Code_of_Business_Ethics_080121.pdf
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
The primary audiences for this report include:
4
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Fiscal 2010
Social /
Environmental
Highlights
Corporate and Best Buy
Children’s Foundation
Philanthropic Donations
$25.2 million in fiscal 2010 and over
$145 million since fiscal 2006.
Please see page 32–39 for more information
about our philanthropic program.
$25.2M
Overall customer satisfaction
score (scale of 0–100)
82.8 points — a 2.3 percentage point
increase over fiscal 2009.
Please see page 26–31 for more about
how we listen to customers.
82.8
points
CO2e emissions in our U.S.
store operations
51.6 pounds per square foot —
a 14.8 percent reduction over our
2005 baseline.
Please see pages 46–59 to learn about our
energy and carbon reduction goals.
51.6
pounds per
square foot
5
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Average Factory Audit Balanced
Scorecard results
82% — a 5 percentage point
improvement over fiscal 2009.
To learn more about our supplier standards and
factory audit program, please see pages 40–45.
82%
Retention rate: Percent of employees
who maintain employment with Best Buy
for at least one year
75% — a 6% percentage point improvement over
fiscal 2009.
Please see pages 14–25 for more information on
employee engagement.
75%
6
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
1
Scope of Operations
Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) is a publicly traded global
retailer of technology and entertainment products and services. With operations in the United
States, Canada, Europe, China, Mexico and
Turkey, the Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than $49 billion
in annual revenue and includes brands such as
Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Audio Visions, The
Carphone Warehouse, Future Shop, Geek Squad,
Five Star, Magnolia Audio Video, Napster, Pacific
Sales and The Phone House. The Carphone Warehouse and The Phone House businesses are
a collaborative venture between Best Buy Co.,
Inc. and the Carphone Warehouse Group, PLC.
Approximately 180,000 employees apply their
talents to bring the benefits of our brands to life
for customers through retail locations, multiple
call centers, web sites, in-home solutions, product
delivery and community activities.
financial results
Revenue (in millions)
$45,015
$50,000
40,000
$49,694
$40,023
$35,934
$30,848
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
06
07
08
09
FY’10
Operating Income Rate
6%
5.6%
5.4%
5.3%
5%
4.5%
4.2%
4%
Community partnership is central to the way we
do business at Best Buy. In fiscal 2010, we donated
$25.2 million to improve the communities where
our employees and customers live and work.
06
07
08
09
FY’10
Diluted Earnings Per Share
(in dollars)
$3.50
$3.12
3.00
2.50
$3.10
$2.79
$2.27
$2.39
2.00
06
Best Buy’s fiscal 2010 Annual Report is available at
phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9NDQ3NTB8Q
2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=&t=1
07
08
09
Best Buy’s 2010 fiscal year ran from March 1st, 2009
to February 27, 2010.
1
FY’10
7
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Stores
locations
stores 4,027
employees 176,596
USA ...... 1,069
Canada ........ 64
Total number of stores and employees at close of fiscal 2010
Mexico .............. 5
USA ................ 74
Canada .............4
USA ................ 35
USA ................... 6
USA ....................8
Stores2
Spain.................. 447
France ................ 318
Germany...........265
Portugal............. 153
Sweden ................ 115
Belgium.................82
Stores
China ................ 6
3,054
415
32
83
122
68
445
9
114
Stores doing business as “The Carphone Warehouse” and “The Phone House”
are part of our Best Buy Europe business, which is jointly owned with
The Carphone Warehouse.
Turkey ............... 1
China .......... 158
9,498
China
Turkey
full-time
part-time
9,015
255
165
63
employees
2
5,304
1,838
1,224
882
676
629
219
490
340
part-time
72,052
11,334
297
locations
UK
Spain
France
Germany
Sweden
Portugal
Netherlands
Belgium
Ireland
full-time
58,674
8,166
631
employees
full-time part-time
151,154
USA
Canada
Mexico
Netherlands.... 186
15,944
Canada ..... 144
employees
Ireland.....................75
locations
United
Kingdom ........... 812
8
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Our Approach
Goals and Aspirations
Best Buy has defined three aspirations for Corporate Responsi-
Since our last report…
bility/Sustainability:
Best Buy welcomed our new CEO, Brian J. Dunn on June 24, 2009.
Like his predecessor Brad Anderson, Brian is a long time veteran
To be a global champion for human ingenuity and opportunity
of Best Buy, having started on the sales floor more than 25 years
To be an advocate for consumers in the world of technology
ago. Brian is passionate about Best Buy’s role in preserving our
To be fiscally, environmentally and socially accountable for our
planet and connecting with the people that make Best Buy a success. He has made it clear that corporate responsibility will continue to be a major priority for the company under his leadership.
brands and business operations worldwide
These aspirations have guided us during one of the most
challenging business years of our 40-year history. To bring these
Best Buy continued to expand globally in fiscal 2010. Near the
aspirations to life, we have researched our efforts relative to
end of fiscal 2009, we opened our first store in Mexico, and in
other companies in our industries, both consumer electronics and
late fiscal 2010, we opened our first store in Turkey. Since then,
retail, as well as companies known for best practices in sustainability.
we have also opened an additional four stores in Mexico and
continued our European expansion with the opening of our first
Best Buy branded store in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2010.
Strategy: Making Connections
As we look at the world today, we are optimistic. More and more,
we are observing how technology impacts the way people are
connecting. In many areas of the world, there is a TV in every
room, a personal computer in every home, and a smart phone in
every pocket. The home has become the office, and offices are
connected worldwide. People are connecting to each other and
to knowledge and opportunity. They receive health, weather and
financial information that helps them take care of themselves,
their families and their businesses. Information about almost
Fiscal 2009 : Mexico
everything is becoming more and more accessible.
Fiscal 2010 : Turkey
Fiscal 2011 : United Kingdom
Best B
uy:
Turke
y
9
We support the communities where we do business through:
tions that are no longer considered discretionary — some are a
Local community grants, store donations and sponsoring
part of people’s daily lives. It also means that with more technology use comes greater energy consumption, and this has an
impact on our planet. Sustainability for Best Buy is about placing
a priority on people, technology and the power to drive it in this
connected world.
As a technology retailer, we play a key leadership role in the
connected world. It is clear to us that our people and their unique
events that serve a variety of causes identified by our local
employees, globally
Volunteerism, with more than 21,000 employees participating
and nearly $2.5 million distributed to non-profit organizations
in communities across the world
Our United Way program and disaster relief through our global
partnerships with the Red Cross and Mercy Corps
connection with customers and their communities are critical to
our success. And, because everything we sell requires power to
We have an extensive and collaborative process to ensure good
deliver value, we need to focus on energy — what we consume in
labor practices for workers in our supply chain through our
our operations, in our supply chain and what our customers will
vendor/supplier agreements, third party manufacturing audit
consume while using our solutions.
process and our training and remediation efforts. In 2009, we
joined the Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP), a
coalition of industry partners and NGOs aimed at increasing the
effectiveness and efficiency of the audit process and remediation
across the industry.
People
Our employees are core to our customer-centric business model.
We engage our employees by offering great benefits and opportunities and encouraging a diverse working experience. We also
involve our employees in our sustainability efforts — we want to
know their ideas for creating positive change. For example, based
on feedback and ideas from our employees we now have recycling
solutions in nearly every break room in our U.S. retail stores.
The relationship we build with our customers allows us to deliver
sustainable, innovative solutions that meet their needs. Part of this
is providing our customers with information and education — in our
Best Bu
y: China
stores and online — that will enable them to make more sustainable
choices. Our partnership with the EPA through the ENERGY STAR®
program is a good example of this. In fiscal 2010, over the lifetime of
the ENERGY STAR® products, we will help our customers:
Realize utility bill savings of $91 million
Save 796 kWh of electricity
Reduce carbon emissions by 1.6 billion pounds
co
Mexi
Buy:
Best
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
What this means for Best Buy is that we sell products and solu-
10
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Technology & Power
Sharpening Our Strategy
We are working to reduce our carbon foot-
We believe the most effective sustainability strategies are those
print across our operations. We reached
tied to a company’s overall business strategies. We determined
our original goal — an 8 percent reduction
this past year that we need a clearer view of the areas where Best
per U.S. retail square foot — three years
Buy can make the most meaningful impact and a plan for driving
in advance of the 2012 target date.
results. To guide us in developing this plan, we are working with
Of course, we don’t plan to stop there. We are currently in the
process of developing a new goal. To do this, we are evaluating
our measurement capability across all brands and regions. We
believe we can have an even greater impact through improved
store design, fuel reductions, implementation of an improved
Environmental Management System, and employee awareness
and training. We intend to explore and leverage renewable energy
and carbon offsets/renewable energy credits as well.
We plan to expand our recycling
and technology trade-in programs
an industry-leading company, Business for Social Responsibility
(BSR). In collaboration with BSR, we are in the process of analyzing our business practices. Starting with an internal assessment,
we are talking with many of our company’s leaders about how
their business units intersect with sustainability opportunities.
We are also looking at external trends through research and
interviews with key stakeholders.
Once we have a clear view of the current state, we can then prioritize the sustainability efforts that align best with our business
strategies and the needs of our external stakeholders.
in the U.S. and around the globe.
We are excited about this work. We believe it will help us drive
In our first year, we recycled
greater economic, social and environmental benefit. The sus-
or refurbished over 1.4 million
tainability strategies we develop through this assessment are
customer units in the U.S. While we see this as a great achievement,
intended to influence our corporate responsibility work for the
we know there are many more products still ending up in landfills.
next 3–5 years.
Land filled electronics cannot be harvested for precious metals,
component parts and commodities that can be reused in the supply
Other Important Areas
chain. This ends up requiring more energy to mine and manufacture
We continue to develop policies, such as our climate change
those components, as well as using more resources across the
and paper procurement policies, to ensure our business practices
value chain. We are currently evaluating how we ”close the loop” in
align with our corporate responsibility aspirations. Industry
our value chain, using recycled content in our own products and/or
initiatives are also an area where we can learn and provide
across the industry.
leadership. Our current relationships include Ceres, Business
for Social Responsibility, Boston College Center for Corporate
We were the first to hold an
Citizenship, the Sustainability Consortium, the Alliance to Save
ENERGY STAR® 3.0 rating for
Energy, Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP),
our entire line of Insignia LCD TVs.
and the GSCP.
We will continue to seek out and endorse new and emerging
technologies that help our customers live more sustainable lives,
Looking forward, we intend to use what we learn from our
including electric vehicles and home automation controls that
partnerships to focus our efforts, build on what we know is work-
help customers better understand and improve their
ing and ensure we are making an impact. In this report, you will
consumption habits.
see the culmination of our efforts to date and how we use the
reporting process to evaluate progress, set new goals and hold
ourselves accountable. We believe that through our efforts we
can help foster Best Buy’s ambitions to be a sustainable company.
11
Compliance & Ethical Standards
Board of Directors
our relationships with employees, consumers, vendors and com-
The Best Buy Board of Directors is committed to a highly effec-
munities are not merely a series of transactions, but instead an
tive corporate governance structure that reflects the interests of
ongoing partnership. Our Chief Compliance Officer monitors and
our shareholders, customers and employees. To ensure a diversity
addresses enterprise risks in the areas of law and public policy, in-
of perspectives, the Board seeks a balance of internal experience
cluding corporate governance, anti-corruption, customer privacy,
and independent expertise. This combination of perspectives is
environmental regulation and product safety, among others. Our
also in line with our corporate culture, which is a cornerstone of
Chief Ethics Officer guides and develops business standards and
our legacy and a key competitive advantage.
practices that comply with the law.
To help us deliver on our promise of business integrity, Best Buy
goes beyond what is required, or even expected, to assure that
The Board has established standards consistent with the
Both our Chief Ethics Officer and our Chief Compliance Officer
requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
are key members of our corporate responsibility governance
and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) corporate governance
structure. They are connected with business leaders across
rules. The Board is primarily made up of independent directors,
the enterprise. Both regularly meet with Board Committees to
and the roles of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of
discuss areas of concern to our corporate compliance and culture.
the Board are separate. Our CEO focuses on the development
They are active in shaping ethical, compliant business practices in
and execution of company strategies and is responsible for the
every country in which we operate.
ongoing leadership and performance of our company, and the
Chairman of the Board is focused on Board oversight, strategic
planning and mentoring company officers. In addition, our Board
has appointed a Lead Independent Director. This director is
responsible for leading executive sessions of the independent
directors, serving as a liaison on their behalf. The Board has
established that three of its committees — the Audit Committee,
Compensation and Human Resources Committee, and Nominating, Corporate Governance and Public Policy Committee — be
comprised entirely of independent directors. These actions all
support our belief that sound corporate governance is a critical
component of a successful corporate responsibility program.
Best Buy’s corporate responsibility governance structure includes
the Board’s Nominating, Corporate Governance and Public Policy
Committee, who receive quarterly updates. It is further supported
by a cross-functional committee of leaders who oversee our programs and initiatives including Environmental Affairs, Community
Relations, Human Resources, Legal, Ethics, and Transportation,
among others. This group serves to drive integration, set goals and
measure results. In recent years we have also made several investments in our organizational structure to support our corporate
responsibility goals, including two dedicated personnel Senior
Director, Corporate Responsibility and Senior Manager, Corporate
Responsibility. These individuals work across the enterprise on
stakeholder engagement, sustainability strategy, communication,
reporting and measurement.
Join the Conversation: Ethics At Best Buy
In fiscal 2010, we launched a website to help our employees learn about ethics and
what “showing respect, humility and integrity” looks like in our day-to-day activities.
In addition to serving as a reporting hotline for ethical concerns, the new bestbuyethics.com/
website includes:
A connection to our Chief Ethics Officer’s award-winning blog, kathleenedmond.com/
A “Tell Us About The Good Stuff” feature that celebrates employees living Best Buy’s values
The site is designed to engage Best Buy employees in an ongoing conversation around business ethics.
However, in the spirit of complete transparency, it is freely accessible on the Internet for our customers,
competitors and vendor partners and will soon be translated into eight languages.
To see how we are using social media to redefine the world of business ethics, join the conversation
at bestbuyethics.com/.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Corporate Governance,
Compliance & Ethics
12
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Corporate Responsibility & Value Creation
Corporate responsibility efforts are part of a smart business strategy to grow revenue and reduce costs. The table below outlines how
some of the sustainability programs we have in place directly benefit the organization according to the criteria often used to evaluate
a company: growth, return on investment and risk management.
growth
return on investment
risk management
How our Corporate Responsibility
initiatives help grow revenue
How our Corporate Responsibility
initiatives help grow our operating and
cash flow margins
How our Corporate Responsibility
initiatives help reduce our risk for
potential costs
Our Women’s Leadership Forum (WOLF @
Our energy efficient buildings reduce store
We proactively lead legislation surrounding
Best Buy) identifies ways to attract and
retain female shoppers, potentially
increasing sales.
Many people who use our recycling and
trade-in programs are new to Best Buy,
which we believe may result in long-term
incremental traffic and sales.
Items brought in for trade-in are refurbished
and resold through alternate channels.
We have increased our focus on ENERGY
operating expenses.
We use less packaging for select Exclusive
Brands, resulting in lower costs for materials
and more efficient shipping and transportation.
By improving transportation routing and
scheduling, we have decreased logistics
expenses and carbon emissions.
Reducing our operational waste and expanding
our recycling program has resulted in less
trash hauling expenses.
STAR® qualified products which often have
higher price points and margins.
environmental standards such as e-waste
recycling and LEED certification.
Addressing risks in the areas of customer
privacy, product safety and sustainability
have directly contributed to reductions
in legal and regulatory costs and improved
brand management.
Our Social and Environmental Responsibility
team in China is addressing risks in our
Exclusive Brands supply chain.
By joining the Global Social Compliance
Programme, we seek to gain efficiencies in
our supply chain and factory audit program
while also lowering our supply chain risks.
Engaging Stakeholders
This past year, we formed a formal Stakeholder Advisory Board
Our approach to stakeholder engagement is both formal and
of social responsibility investment companies, environmentalists
informal. Informally, we interact with our employees and custom-
and human rights representatives from leading NGOs. Through a
ers every day in our stores, online and over the telephone. You will
dialogue that includes leaders from across Best Buy, we ask for
see in this report’s employee, customer and community sections,
insight and ideas and share challenges, opportunities and success-
how we bring this communication to life.
es. This effort has just begun, but we expect to gain a great deal of
through our relationship with Ceres. The Advisory Board consists
value through these conversations as we continue
to mature in our sustainability practices.
13
Sustainability Strategy &
Development Organizations
World Economic Forum
U.S. Green Building Council:
Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED)
An independent, international not-for-profit organization committed to improving
Developed by the U.S. Green Building
the state of the world by engaging leaders
Council (USGBC), LEED provides building
A membership-based research organizain partnerships to shape global, regional
owners and operators a concise frametion committed to helping business leverand industry agendas. weforum.org
work for identifying and implementing
age its social, economic, and human assets
practical and measurable green building
to ensure its success and create a just and Environmental Organizations:
design, construction, operations and maintesustainable world. bcccc.net
Climate Leaders
nance solutions. LEED is an internationally
An
EPA
industry-government
partnership
recognized green building certification
Business Civic Leadership Center
(U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
that works with companies to develop
system, providing third-party verificacomprehensive
climate
change
strategies.
tion that a building or community was
The world’s largest business federation
Partner
companies
commit
to
reducing
designed and built using strategies aimed
serving as a resource and voice for busitheir
impact
on
the
global
environment
by
at improving performance across all the
nesses and their social and philanthropic
completing
a
corporate-wide
inventory
metrics that matter most: energy savings,
interests. uschamber.com/bclc
of their greenhouse gas emissions based
water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction,
Business for Social Responsibility
on a quality management system, setting
improved indoor environmental quality,
aggressive reduction goals, and annually
and stewardship of resources and sensitivA leader in corporate responsibility.
reporting their progress to EPA. Through
ity to their impacts. usgbc.org/leed
Leverages their network of over 250
member companies to develop sustainable program participation, companies create a
credible record of their accomplishments
business strategies and solutions. bsr.org
Social Change Organizations
and receive EPA recognition as corporate
Magic Johnson Enterprises
Ceres
environmental leaders. epa.gov/stateply
Magic Johnson Enterprises, formed in
A national network of investors, environ®
1987, serves as a catalyst for community
ENERGY STAR
mental organizations and other public
and economic empowerment by making
Through the ENERGY STAR® program,
interest groups. Works with companies
available high-quality entertainment,
the EPA and DOE have partnered with
and investors to address sustainability
products and services that answer the
thousands of organizations across the
challenges impacting the planet and its
demands of ethnically diverse urban comresidential, commercial and industrial secpeople. ceres.org
munities. Through investment, partnership
tors to increase the sales of energy effiand consultation, Magic Johnson
Global Social Compliance
cient products bearing the ENERGY STAR®
Programme (GSCP)
Enterprises has a portfolio of companies
label, raise energy efficiency standards for
A business-driven program for companies new home construction and existing home that strategically work together to reinforce the organization’s focus on serving
wanting to harmonize existing efforts in
renovations, and improve the efficiency
emerging, multicultural communities.
order to deliver a shared, consistent, global of commercial and industrial facilities
magicjohnson.com
approach for continuous improvement of
through strategic energy management
working conditions in global supply chains. practices. epa.gov or energy.gov
Youth Venture
Boston College Center for
Corporate Citizenship
gscpnet.com
Smart Way
Sustainability Consortium
An independent organization of diverse
global participants working together
to build a scientific foundation to drive
innovation and improve consumer
product sustainability through all
stages of the product life cycle.
sustainabilityconsortium.org
An EPA program to improve the environmental performance and fuel efficiency of
the U.S. freight sector (truck & rail) through
the use of a voluntary market incentive
system, that encourages retailers/end
users to choose trucking and/or rail
companies that are environmental leaders
in their respective industry segments.
epa.gov/smartway
Youth Venture is a global movement of
young change makers. Youth Venture
inspires and invests in teams of young
people to start their own sustainable
social ventures and connects them to a
powerful global network. Collectively,
these young change makers are redefining
the youth years as a time of initiative and
positive change. genv.net
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Best Buy is a member of or collaborates with the following organizations (partial list):
Retail Leadership Forum (RLF)
Learns from the Geek Squad
In January 2010, the RLF met with leaders and employees at Geek Squad
City, one of our computer repair facilities in Louisville, Kentucky. The goal
was to gain insights through observation and dialogue with Geek Squad
employees. The sessions ended up enabling RLF leaders to decrease
computer repair time and overall turn time at stores in their own markets,
which positively impacted customer experience at those stores. The
RLF also helped launch a cross-functional training program between
top-performing Geek Squad agents at Geek Squad City to further identify
efficiencies that could be scaled across the enterprise.
Congratulations
WaterCooler Users!
In 2009, the McMurry Center for Professional Excellence
awarded Best Buy’s virtual Watercooler top honors in the
Social Media — Internal Social Networks category. The site
won for its ability to change the way Best Buy does business.
Congratulations to all of the 10,000 Best Buy employees
every week that have contributed to more than 1.3 million
posts in less than two years.
Asia
Employee
Engagement
Best Buy is actively pursuing a set of
global employee engagement best
practices. Best Buy China received the
Best Model of Human Resources and
Most Popular Employer awards from
51job, Inc., a leading provider of human
resource services in China.
15
performance
at a glance
U.S. Employee
Retention Rate
Global Employee
Engagement Survey
Score (out of 5)
75%
3.97
a 6% percentage point
increase over FY 2009
a .05 point reduction
compared to FY 2009
Number of Training
Certifications Earned on
our Online Employee
Training Site
272,000
people
Connecting With Employees
Employee engagement is not just a corporate cliché at Best Buy. Our employees are the main
connection between our company and our customers. Their creative and innovative minds have
sparked many of the programs we have in place to carry out our corporate responsibility mission —
including programs in the areas of community involvement, environmental sustainability and social
change. They truly are our most valuable asset. To support and encourage them to be their best, we
are focused on connecting all 180,000 Best Buy employees worldwide — to each other, to management and to knowledge and opportunity that helps them excel at their jobs and in their lives.
In this section, you will discover the many ways we are helping employees get connected.
Employee Engagement Challenges
response
results
looking forward
Maintaining high employee
engagement scores during
challenging economic times
and the implementation of
a new store labor model.
Initiated leadership
involvement in setting an
action plan which included
CEO check-in.
Created a task force to explore
opportunities to increase
employee engagement at U.S.
retail locations.
Continue to engage leaders to
“own” the employee survey results
and create meaningful actions.
Providing competitive benefits
to full and part-time employees.
Placed rewards in employees’
hands sooner in the year.
Paid bonuses to eligible U.S.
employees mid-year. Spent
$12M on Blue Crew Bucks, a
bonus program for store-level
employees including part-time.
Look for new opportunities to
enhance benefits and compensation
programs across the enterprise.
Encouraging eligible employees
to save for retirement.
Founding member of
“Financially Fit Minnesota,” a
group of employers committed
to educating employees
about personal finance.
Starting in January 2010, all new
Best Buy U.S. employees are
auto-enrolled in the 401(k)
Retirement Savings Plan after
one year of service.
Explore opportunities to create
additional wealth-building
incentives for part-time employees.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
challenge
16
Best
BestBuy
BuyFiscal
Fiscal2010
2010Sustainability
SustainabilityReport
Report
Connecting Employees to Each Other
The benefits of connecting employees to each other go beyond
just the sharing of information. Employees can, and often do,
provide support for each other, spread positive messages, and
collaborate to develop innovative ideas. The following are some
of the programs we have recently implemented to help employees connect with each other:
Diversity and Inclusion
A diverse workforce strengthens
our company’s pool of knowledge
and talent and allows us to provide
our customers with top-notch
customer experiences. In
developing a diverse workforce, it
is important to us that all of our
employees feel welcome and valued. That’s why we are working to
further develop and maintain an inclusive environment where
employees can feel free to be themselves, develop their talents
and grow with the company. In fact, we ask “Can you be you?” and
encourage conversations about how the individual can really be
themselves and feel like they belong to a great company that
values them.
Employee Business Networks
(EBNs) are one way we encourage an
inclusive environment. EBN groups
are based on an interest in and
support for a common dimension of
diversity such as age, race, gender
or sexual orientation.
We believe our EBNs help reduce turnover, aid in the development
of leadership skills and bring insights to the business from a
diverse perspective. In the U.S., we have 11 EBNs and over
100 EBN chapters in our corporate offices and in our retail field
organization — thousands of employees are involved in these
networks.
“ EBNs have played a significant role in launching
“ The EBN and FIN programs
are the necessary catalyst for
turning conversation and good
intentions into tactical action.”
- Adrian Dallara, District HR Manager
business relationship and partnerships with such organizations as The Gay and Lesbian Center for Pride, the
African American Research Library, and Women in
Distress. These long lasting relationships have a positive
impact on our market, our community, as well as our
employee experience.
”
Kirk Harris, Operations Supervisor
17
TEFA
Military
Employee
Business
Network
LatIN
Latino Employee
Network
PRIDE
“ When I started at Best Buy, I heard
FIN
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual
and Transgender
(GLBT) Employee
Network
Focused
Involvement
Network
WOLF
SaGE
Women’s
Leadership
Forum
The Wisdom
of Experience
BLU
AEN
Best Buy
Leadership
United
Asian Employee
Network
INCLUDE
BEN
Focus on Abilities,
Not Disabilities
Black Employee
Network
the phrase ‘…bring your whole self to
work.’ Until I joined the Corporate
Pride EBN and began immersing
myself in diversity work, I never really
knew what that phrase meant. Now
that phrase has come to life for me. My
boss and work team know that I have a
partner and they support the fact that I
co-chair the Corporate Pride group.
They understand how important the
work is to me. Overall, I feel lucky to be
at Best Buy and able to be my true self
every day.
”
Corey Smith, Sr. Manager, Human Resources
“ The Asian Employee Network is an
extension of who I am as an employee
and as an individual. It’s another tool
that allows me to be a part of the
change I want to see.
InterFaith
”
Jackie Le, Space Management Analyst
Female & Minority Group
membership employees
Female
Hispanic
African-American
Best Buy U.S., Magnolia & Pacific Sales
Percent of female & minority group employees
Asian-American
In fiscal 2010, Best Buy added another opportunity for employees
to come together around a common interest, called Focused
Involvement Networks (FINs). Two FINs launched in 2009: the
Families at Work Network and Facing Autism in a Caring Environ-
26%
14%
27%
28%
29%
30%
ment. With the addition of these groups, even more employees
have a forum to share ideas and learn through the exchange of
common experiences.
14%
13%
13%
14%
Other important ways we encourage diversity and
inclusion include:
13%
14%
14%
13%
13%
6%
5%
5%
5%
Running our Affirmative Action Program, which affects our
retention, development, outreach and recruitment efforts.
6%
Working with employees to develop local immersion
experiences, such as visiting multicultural landmarks
06
07
08
09
FY’10
Educating employees on diversity issues through a catalog
of ready-to-use online courses
Enterprise
Percent of female employees
For more information about diversity and inclusion at Best Buy,
go to diversityatbestbuy.com.
31%
09
32%
FY’10
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Teenage Employees
Focused on
Advancing
18
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
WOLF @ Best Buy and Innovation:
Reward Zone for Schools
The Women’s Leadership Forum team in Wisconsin (code name Stella!) set a goal
to engage more female customers, by developing a twist on a successful store
program. The idea was to allow customers to donate their Reward Zone Program
points to the school of their choice. Schools could use those donated points to
buy products that meet their technology needs. The donation program was
expanded to all stores in the Midwest. By fall 2009, Best Buy customers had
provided $40,870 in Reward Zone certificates to schools. One school even cashed
in their certificates and spent more, leading to a $415,000 sale.
From Anywhere
To help employees stay
connected, we launched an
“The Reward Zone for Schools program has had a huge impact with our
customers and in our community,” explained Kristin Houle, product process
manager, Store #1052 (Stevens Point, Wisconsin). “Once customers learn they
can support their schools with Reward Zone points, we are immediately set
apart from the competition and become top of mind. And once we’ve built that
relationship with the schools, Best Buy and Best Buy for Business can be the
source for all their technology needs, from appliances to family and consumer
education - even smart boards for every classroom.”
internet-accessible version
of our eGO Human Resources
Support Center site. Now
employees can get information about their pay and
This innovative new program has been adopted by many stores across the U.S.
We continue to work with WOLF @ Best Buy to integrate the Reward Zone
program with business customers.
benefits, policies and more
whenever and wherever
they want it.
To learn more about Reward Zone for Schools, please see the
following video on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=yxLKceT8gzM
mybbyrewards.com
Why is there a
Best Buy’s virtual Watercooler is
another way we help connect our
geographically diverse workforce. Watercooler is an online
forum for Best Buy employees to
engage in discussions pertinent
to their business and of interest
to their community.
“As an installer (car electronics), I’ve gained a majority of the knowledge I know about vehicles from
other installers who reply to my posts. It’s a great way to establish a relationship with other installers
in the company.” – TECH, AUTO MECP BASIC, Location 673
“I check out the forums for department specific topics. They can actually be quite helpful. There is
usually someone in your position that can answer a business related question you have quickly.”
– SPEC, SWAT, Location 549
“There is a great amount of helpful information on Watercooler. Topics like “get it off your chest”
also help us deal with the stress that we all have, helping us keep that smile on our face as we help
customers.” – SALES OPERATOR, Location 678
19
The Women’s Leadership Forum (WOLF @ Best Buy) is an
employee and consumer network that focuses on driving
female market share and advancing women’s leadership within
the company.
WOLF @ Best Buy recently launched a Talent Readiness
Program that will enable over 170 women from the U.S. retail
field and corporate offices to participate in a one-year leadership
development experience. Beyond the U.S., we are in the process
of expanding our Women’s Leadership Forum to involve employees in Canada and Mexico.
Visit WolfatBestBuy.com for more information and inspiring stories
or connect with us via Facebook or Twitter.
Employee Councils and Forums
Engaging our employees in their own development and helping
them write Best Buy’s growth story is an important part of our
culture. Our Retail Leadership Forum (RLF) is designed to
positively impact local growth and innovation in the short-term,
while building successful leaders in the long-term. The forum
includes all eight of our U.S. territories. As of December 2009,
80 percent of RLF members and qualifying alumni experienced a
positive role change (from single to multi-unit role or promotion)
or achieved mastery in their current role.
esler
d Liz Ha
ddart an
ary Sto
aders M
st Buy le
e
Wolf @ B
WOLF @ Best Buy’s goals include:
recent results
Create opportunities and structure for our
people, especially our female employees, to
maximize their leadership development.
49 networks exist in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Combined teams of women from retail stores and our corporate office meet weekly to review
business metrics and work on projects focused on strengthening the business.
The annual conference provides opportunities to learn more about our business, our customers
and develop personal and professional skills.
Over 100 WOLF @ Best Buy members across the U.S. participated in the White House Project:
“Go Run Training” and “Day at the Capital” workshops.
Engage our female customers by delivering
experiences and services that appeal to them.
We collaborated with our female customers to improve our Appliances business in the southeastern
U.S. by making changes such as adding a consultation desk and a kid’s corner. We saw positive
business results as negative comp sales were reversed.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Women’s Leadership Forum
20
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
HEROes Support Program
Leveraging Web 2.0 and Social Networking
To encourage the exchange of knowledge
Best Buy encourages employees to participate and share insights
between employees in the U.S., China,
through numerous internal social media platforms, including our
Mexico and Turkey, we implemented the
company discussion forums, virtual town halls, online polls, Brian’s
HEROes Support Program (HERO stands
Whiteboard (our CEO’s blog) and interactive news site. Employees
for Half-year Enterprise Retail Operations).
also discuss and network externally on sites such as Facebook,
The program was designed to help employees
Twitter and LinkedIn. We have a social media policy for employees
share knowledge that helps to further
who participate in these sites, based on three simple principles:
integrate our global operations.
Be smart, be human, be respectful.
In 2009, eight Best Buy U.S.-based employees
We gather employee insights through these channels to create
providing Geek Squad services traveled to
a comprehensive “employee landscape” for the company: a
China, Mexico and Turkey. Future versions
snapshot of what our employees think, feel and understand. This
of HEROes may take on different work in
employee landscape is then used as critical input to strategies
different countries or could involve
and projects, measurement for tactics and tools, and an ongoing
non-U.S. employees.
pulse-check for company leaders.
Green Council
In June 2009, we founded Green Council. The Council is made up
of 16 U.S. employees who have committed to learning more about
Best Buy’s sustainability programs and to sharing information
with their peers. It’s a voluntary role and all employees are eligible
to apply for the Council. This fiscal year, the Council focused on
recycling, energy management in our stores, and Earth Day 2010.
They also shared best practices to improve efficiency and
customer experience.
Connecting Employees to Management
Corporate communications is no longer a highly controlled,
one-way process. And dialogue is no longer just a two-way
exercise; it is an all-way network, as employees can also get
information from each other. At its heart, the concept of dialogue
is simple: talk, listen, and respond. But within a company especially a large company like Best Buy with a global, distributed
workforce it can be incredibly complicated and difficult. When
w
we open up a conversation, we have to follow through by listening
aand responding to the input, even if it challenges our current way
o
of thinking.
T
The value of dialogue, however, is worth the effort. When we invite
e
employees to take part in communication and give them a voice in
tthe company, we believe we are creating a highly engaged
w
workforce that understands, shares, gets involved and cares.
H
Here are some of the programs we’ve implemented to help
e
employees and management connect.
embers
ouncil m
Green C
21
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
U.S. Employee Rates of
Retention & Turnover
75%
69%
68%
69%
Total
Retention1
44%
Total
Turnover2
64%
67%
67%
60%
37%
36%
06
07
08
09
Total
Enterprise Turnover2
FY’10
1 Retention represents the percent of employees who remained
with Best Buy for the entire fiscal year
2 Turnover represents the total number of people who ended
employment with Best Buy within the fiscal year divided by
the total number of employees
Surveys
Annually, Best Buy measures employee
engagement across the Enterprise using the
Viewpoint survey. The survey results are shared
with managers to help them understand what we
are doing well and if any areas need improvement. Action plans created based on survey results are focused
on enhancing the employee experience.
We also use an Employee Satisfaction Index (ESI) survey,
administered bi-annually to our U.S retail stores. Modeled after
the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), the ESI measures
employee satisfaction and commitment. It provides significant
insights into 17 different dimensions of the workplace environment.
These insights give us direction on how to improve the workplace
experience, and subsequently increase employee satisfaction and
loyalty. Additionally, we can use the results to identify important
links between the employee and customer experience.
We are able to achieve a more robust view of the overall employee
experience using both surveys. Each brings a different, yet
complementary set of key insights.
Recognition at Five Star
Imagine you are a general manager at one of our
158 Five Star Appliance stores in China, and you are
feeling good about your store’s recent financial
performance: revenue was up substantially and gross
margin was well ahead of budget. You wonder if the
hard work and commitment of you and your employees
will be recognized. Then the phone rings. On the other
end is Joseph Cheng, President of Operations, Nicolas
Wang, President of Retail, and Moe Amirie, Vice
President of Business Operations! They are calling
to personally congratulate and thank you for your
outstanding work. Talk about recognition.
Each Monday, Joseph, Nicolas and Moe gather in
a room at the Five Star headquarters that has
several touch-screen TVs that display the previous
week’s financial performance. They are able to tap
on lines to drill down to store specific information,
open a map of the city where the stores are
located and even click on an icon to see a photo
of the actual store. Through this technology,
company leaders feel more closely linked to
the brick & mortar locations and to the top
performing employees that power the company’s
success, and they have the opportunity to
recognize and encourage their efforts.
22
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Civic
participation
We believe our employees can further develop their
leadership skills by engaging in civic-minded activities.
Our new BLUEgrassroots Captains program involved
67 general managers, district managers and other field leaders
who volunteered to inform and engage their peers on public policy
issues impacting the company. Our BLUEgrassroots Captains
connect their local stores with elected officials, participating in
more than 120 meetings with members of Congress in July 2009
alone. Nearly 1,000 employees connected with more than 400 local,
state and federal elected officials at various events, store grand
openings, press conferences or town hall meetings in fiscal 2010.
For more, visit bluegrassrootsnetwork.com
Fiscal 2010
Cool facts
We awarded over $304,000 in prizes to employees for
completing training courses on the Learning Lounge
Employees completed 1.2 million hours worth of training on
the Learning Lounge
Employees completed 2,700,000 courses on the Learning Lounge
Learning Lounge
AWARD
In 2009, the Learning Lounge
won the Stevie Award for
“Best Training Website” from
the American Business
ss
Association.
23
Innovations in Rewards:
It is important that we help connect employees to the resources
requesting that those options be used to fund a reward for
they need to serve customers well. But we also want them to learn
extraordinary performance from employees who were not eligible
and grow for their own sake — to foster creativity, innovative
to receive stock options as part of the Company’s Long-Term
thinking and leadership skills. Here are some of the programs we
Incentive Plan. Because of his generosity, nearly 2,000 employees
have implemented to help employees connect to knowledge
received grants totaling approximately $7 million in restricted
and opportunities for growth.
shares in fiscal 2010. When Brad retired in June 2009, the Brad
Career and Life Planning
Anderson Legacy Stock Award Program was created as a way to
Employees that dream big are an asset to our company.
Dreaming big means they haven’t lost their sense of creativity
and imagination — two characteristics central to innovation. To
encourage our employees to think beyond their day-to-day lives,
Best Buy launched a website called idreambestbuy.com. The site
has tools for self-reflection, planning, commitment, inspiration
and support for developing a career and life plan that makes
them happy.
Legacy Program Honors Former CEO’s Giving
While he was CEO, Brad Anderson declined to receive stock options,
honor his contributions, his values-based leadership and his
commitment to Best Buy and its employees. The program awards
options to purchase stock each year to deserving employees
worldwide. Two thousand employees across our company were
honored with the first-annual Brad Anderson Legacy Stock Award
in 2009. To listen to the stories of some of the recipients, visit:
ourstories.iambestbuy.com/Brad_Anderson_Legacy_Stock_Awards.html
Gift of Time Policy
Developed though the passion and commitment
of our U.S. employees, the Gift of Time policy
provides the opportunity to help employees
who are unable to work due to a personal
Our employees provide extraordinary service to our customers
and we reward them for their contribution in return. Because
every individual is motivated in a different way, we offer a wide
variety of programs and opportunities. At Best Buy, rewards are
designed to:
Attract, motivate and retain the right talent to achieve our
strategic objectives and long-term growth plans.
Offer a competitive, flexible mix of rewards that reflect
employee preferences.
Pay for performance by providing a strong relationship
between the rewards received and the performance of the
company, team and individual employee.
Globally, we focus on four reward components for employees:
compensation, benefits, learning and development, and work
environment. While our rewards philosophy and strategic
compensation programs are managed centrally, many of our
health, paid-time-off and retirement programs are tailored to
meet the needs and preferences of employees based on their
particular location.
Overall, we maintained our company match to the 401(k) plan and
offered salary increases (totaling more than $20 million) in a year
when many organizations did not.
issue, serious illness, injury or caring for an
immediate family member who has a serious
illness or injury. Employees can donate a
combined maximum of four weeks of their own
accrued vacation time to an employee who has exhausted his or
her paid time-off benefits.
Achievers Program
We offer our employees the chance to be recognized as the
“best of the best” for their job performance through our Achievers
program. This program helps reinforce that meeting customers’
needs and teamwork are key aspects of company success.
Top performers enjoy a trip, prizes and also get early information
about the latest and greatest products and services from our
vendor partners. Employees in the U.S. and Canada currently
participate in the program. We hope to develop it into an
enterprise-wide recognition platform.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Connecting Employees to
Knowledge and Opportunity
24
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Our certification programs require employees to complete
training and testing on topics related to their job on a regular
basis. We have found that certification positively impacts our
Customer Satisfaction scores. Over 272,000 certifications have
been completed since the program launched in May 2009. In
addition to certifying employees, we also require extensive
training on our customer service process and how to engage
customers in creating solutions that work for them.
Day-to-day Training and Skill Development
Chairman’s
C
’ A
Award
Employees can be recognized for their unique contributions
to the growth of the company each year through the Chairman’s
Award, named in honor of Best Buy founder, Richard Schulze.
The Chairman’s Award honors employees who are dedicated
to fueling Best Buy’s growth through innovation or through
efficiency and effectiveness. Each year up to $1 million is
awarded to multiple projects. In fiscal 2010, 135 employees
received recognition and cash awards for their contributions.
Because people learn in many different ways, we deliver in-person
training to our employees, in addition to the online options we
offer. Examples of face-to-face training include new employee
training and orientation, monthly weekend training sessions in
our stores, and all-store meetings several times a year. Each day,
our store managers are expected to hold a “chalk talk” with the
team working that day to review customer feedback, store
performance and recognize employees for outstanding work.
As our business has expanded into other countries, our
training materials on information protection, diversity and other
values-based topics are translated into multiple languages and
presented in a way that is respectful of the culture.
Learning Lounge
Beyond our own training program, Best Buy U.S. supports its
We deliver training to our diverse and geographically-dispersed
full-time employees who are interested in pursuing educational
employees using a platform called the Learning Lounge
opportunities outside the company. From helping employees earn
(bestbuylearninglounge.com). The Learning Lounge includes
a high school diploma to pursuing a PhD, our Tuition Assistance
multiple training tools, including documents, videos, elearnings
program is designed to build on our goal of becoming a world-
or audio files that employees can download to an MP3 player.
class organization.
The Learning Lounge is accessible anywhere there’s an internet
connection, so our people can learn where they like, when
they like — and they are paid for their time. Approximately
70 percent of the content is provided by our vendor partners,
making the site very cost-effective and the best source of
up-to-date information about the technology products and
services we offer.
25
Before the Boycott:
56
54
50
Average hours
of training
per year/per
employee
Riding the Bus
Number of employees
in the Tuition
Assistance program
To celebrate Black History month, Best Buy
partnered with the National Civil Rights
Museum to develop an eLearning program for
middle school students. The program, called
Before the Boycott — Riding the Bus, teaches
students about legalized segregation and the
events that led to the modern Civil Rights
Movement. The program covers Rosa Parks’
heroic stand on December 1, 1955, when she
refused to give her seat up to a white man,
among other significant events. After completing seven stops in a simulated bus trip, the
students will have assembled a “story” to
submit to their school newspaper. A teacher’s
guide is also available. To experience the
Before the Boycott — Riding the Bus
eLearning, go to beforetheboycott.com/.
4,880
$9.8M
2,846
$7.8M
Tuition
Assistance
$7.8M
08
09
FY’10
As our company grows, we plan to expand our employee
engagement strategies and programs. The goal: to keep
employees connected, not only in the U.S., but also where we
operate internationally. Employee surveys, diversity and inclusion
programs, training and leadership development are all examples
of programs that can be expanded. Ultimately, we believe that
connecting employees to each other, to management and to
knowledge and opportunity will drive growth and innovation
here at Best Buy.
eLearning
6,255
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Training
& Education
26
Martin Luther
King Center gets
active with
Military forum
Wii
of improving the average shipping time of 30 days to a military address. From
Since 2008, the Martin Luther King
Multi-Service Center and Best Buy
store #231 in Indianapolis, Indiana,
have partnered to provide youth with
a diverse set of opportunities. This
past year, the partnership established
the Wii Fitness Center, featuring 10
Nintendo Wii consoles and 10 Insignia
37-inch televisions. The program has
already earned an endorsement from
the Indiana Department of Health
and is targeted to expand its appeal
beyond youth to the senior community,
further delivering digitally-connected
health benefits.
that partnership, and working with the U.S. Post Office, Best Buy implemented
“ The youth that use this facility live
a new process in June of 2009 that provided faster shipping — 7 to 14 days —
in areas where technology like this is
not available,” said John May,
General Manager, Store 231. “ We
feel good about being able to support
the Center and helping them improve
the lives of others with technology
that’s fun and easy to use.”
shipping time
Over the last couple of years, Best Buy has expanded
the assortment of products we have available to ship
to military personnel. While we were pleased with our
increased ability to meet these particular customers’
needs, we found there were issues with the amount of time
it took to ship the items overseas. Shipping can be difficult
in war zones where there are added security processes. Our
.com team partnered with our Military Employee Business
Network and the Transportation team to research best practices, with a goal
and better tracking. Customer feedback the first month was extremely
positive, and our .com Customer Satisfaction scores spiked 14 points. Our plan
for future enhancements includes implementing a process to provide pre-paid
labels, free shipping and appropriate customs documents for any items that
may need to be returned due to damage, defects, or in the event that an
incorrect item was shipped.
Connecting with
communities in
El Paso
Best Buy store #1470 in El Paso, Texas, created a program in
partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation and
the local University Medical Center to combat the high child fatality
rate in the area due to inadequate car seat restraints. The store’s
Geek Squad agents became certified to do the inspections and to
date, they have helped inspect over 200 car seats.
Not only are these employees helping to solve a serious
community safety issue, they also helped build customer
trust and loyalty by showing that Best Buy employees
genuinely care about their community.
27
performance
Overall Customer
Satisfaction Score
(maximum of 100)
Number of
Substantiated
Privacy Breaches
Number of Customer
Questions Answered
viaTwelpforce
zero
over 23,800
82.8
(a 2.3 percentage point
increase over last year)
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
at a glance
people
Connecting with Customers
In the connected world, customers are communicating with us in ways we could have never
imagined before. And we are listening. We are measuring their satisfaction across every channel —
in our stores, on our web sites, through call centers and in-home services, and social media spaces
like Facebook and Twitter. We are open to connecting with our customers in whatever way they
choose to interact with us.
Even more importantly, we must be able to help them with the questions, concerns and issues
they tell us are important to them. Our customer care goal is to keep connections strong between
Best Buy and our customers by investing in programs that increase our ability to listen and to respond
creatively and effectively. In this section, you will learn how we are connecting our customers to
solutions that address their individual needs.
Customer Care Challenges
challenges
response
results
looking forward
Consumers expect to have instant
access to accurate, reliable
information about our products
and services. They also want to
have their questions answered
and their opinions heard.
We used both our .com site
and innovative web 2.0 tools,
to share information and
interact with customers at
their convenience.
Innovative venues like
Twelpforce and IdeaX allowed
us to connect with thousands of
customers 24/7.
We will continually seek timely
and convenient ways to engage
customers to share information
and gather their opinions.
A vast number of international,
national, and state security and
privacy laws and regulations exist,
presenting Best Buy with widely
divergent, and in some cases
conflicting, obligations.
We developed an Enterprise
Privacy Group (EPG) to adopt
a set of policies, programs,
and training to govern privacy
decisions and interactions
with customers.
We did not experience any
substantiated privacy breaches.
We maintained E.U. Safe Harbor
certification. And we continue
to place a focus on responsible
use of new technologies.
We will continue to evolve a global
approach and generate additional
opportunities for employee
education.
28
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Customer Satisfaction Surveys
In the U.S., we rely on a customer satisfaction
survey to help us assess areas where we excel
and areas where we can do better. We revise
the survey each year based on input from
consumer focus groups and employees. Each
of our Best Buy stores and our .com team can
also customize their surveys to better understand what local
Best Buy U.S. Retail
Customer Satisfaction Survey Results
customers want. Survey results are posted on our Intranet for
employees to consider as they develop and refine their strategic
overall customer satisfaction
plans and address opportunities to improve performance.
77.4
In fiscal 2010, one of the more dramatic shifts in our survey scores
79.2
80.7
82.8
was in the Problem Resolutions category. While we believe the
lower score is due, in part, to a shift in our survey methodology, we
are happy to report that the total number of people stating that
store atmosphere
there was a problem with their shopping experience decreased
85.7
sharply this past fiscal year.
86.9
85.7
84.0
merchandise
83.6
82.9
Best Buy.com Purchaser
80.9
81.6
Customer Satisfaction Survey Results
overall satisfaction
85.0
product descriptions
85.1
84.3
merchandise
associates
77.2
84.1
search
85.5
navigation
86.8
83.9
ordering process
85.3
88.1
48.3
85.5
site performance
85.5
82.9
problem resolution
48.9
86.4
79.9
50.9
46.2
83.7
84.1
customer service desk
79.0
86.2
82.1
checkout
transaction costs
85.7
85.1
88.1
09
87.1
81.5
FY’10
09
81.3
FY’10
87.6
82.9
07
08
09
FY’10
29
TwelpForce and IdeaX
Best Buy further embraced the social networking
Our customer care call centers are focused on meeting customers’
space with two new tools to support customers
needs, using the full talent of the Enterprise Customer Care
and provide another format for them to voice
team. They continually monitor the overall health of the customer
their opinions and share ideas with us.
experience, showing strong performance in meeting those needs
Twelpforce is the name of Best Buy’s customer
in fiscal 2010:
佡 Customer satisfaction improved by 4.16 percentage points
over fiscal 2009 to a score of 70.1.
佡 Customers reported that we resolved 74.6 percent of all
questions or issues, an improvement of 3.4 percentage points
from the previous year.
佡 Customers also gave our customer care employees high marks,
especially in the areas of understanding their needs and level
of knowledge.
service forum via Twitter. Customers can send us
“tweets” with questions about the products they
are interested in. Best Buy employees from our
Enterprise Customer Care team, Blue Shirts and
Geek Squad are able to provide expertise and support
whenever customers might be seeking assistance. They respond
to Twelpforce posts as soon as possible — usually within 30
minutes. Twelpforce users have directed over 45,000 online clicks
to BestBuy.com. As of January 2010, Twelpforce membership is just
shy of 2,400 employees, and 16,000 people have bookmarked and
follow Twelpforce on Twitter.
In 2009, we launched IdeaX
(bestbuyideax.com), an online
forum for Best Buy customers
to share and discuss ideas. Customers are encouraged to share
new ways to solve problems and improve their experience with
women
participated
our website, products, services and store policies. There is also
a feature where site users can comment on others’ ideas and vote
on which ideas they think are best. IdeaX has become a great
opportunity for our company to find out what is important to our
Women’s Leadership Forum:
Consumer Innovation Program
customers. We fully expect ideas that have strong support from
this online community will impact our business going forward.
Through our Women’s Leadership Forum (WOLF @ Best Buy),
Best Buy has the opportunity to engage our female customers by
Protecting Privacy
inviting them to help us deliver better technology and shopping
Privacy is one of the most important issues to customers today.
experiences. WOLF invites female employees and consumers to
Emerging technology and communication tools such as social
participate in innovation teams that work together to enhance
media, online behavioral advertising and mobile marketing give
overall store design and product assortment. In addition to sharing
us new ways of serving our customers and communicating with
their unique perspectives, this experience provides an opportu-
our employees. These same tools also create complex privacy
nity for these young girls and women to broaden their personal
issues that require transparent and creative solutions to meet
and professional networks and sharpen their leadership skills.
evolving privacy concerns. At Best Buy, we address these needs
Through a 90-day innovation process, these groups have helped
improve several specific areas of our stores, including Appliances,
by balancing policy with transparency and our customers’ and
employees’ desire for information with their privacy needs.
Services, Home Theater, Gaming and Mobile Phones. As a result
As a leading retailer, we continuously update our policies, monitor
of their recommendations, adjustments have been made to store
our processes and systems, and incorporate up-to-date security
spaces and more accessories have been added, making these
measures to ensure we address employee and customer concerns
areas more appealing and easier to shop. More than 1,500 female
and emerging issues related to protecting data.
consumers in 10 cities across the U.S. and the U.K. have helped
Best Buy become a more female-friendly experience.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Best Buy U.S. Customer Care Call Centers —
Customer Satisfaction Survey Highlights
30
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Hint Helper and Customer Privacy
During the fiscal 2009 Holiday season, Best Buy promoted the Hint Helper. Customers selected gifts they wanted
and then sent a link to their friends. By signing up, during their visits to Web sites across the Internet, they would
receive online banner ads containing the gifts selected by their friends. The friend had to agree to have their online
behavior tracked in order to serve up the ads which would be customized with their name and their friend’s gift ideas.
Best Buy took a proactive, transparent stance to ensure users understood what information would be collected and
ir privacy.
used and how they were able to control their
Our Enterprise Privacy Group operates with the following values
to build and maintain positive, constructive relationships with
customers and employees and to help us make informed decisions:
佡 Proactively identify opportunities to create customer value
through robust privacy practices
佡 Understand, respect and respond to the privacy concerns
and expectations of our customers and employees
佡 Understand, respect and ensure compliance with the laws
of the communities in which we do business
佡 Partner with internal business teams to enable their goals
while ensuring privacy is an integral part of the solution
佡 Empower employees to take responsibility for protecting
the personal information of each other and our customers
佡 Monthly audits by a third party to determine the efficacy
of our M-rated carding program. In fiscal 2010, Best Buy’s
compliance in preventing underage gamers from purchasing
M-rated games was 83.3 percent
When it comes to video games, there are often two main criticisms:
1) the violence depicted in some games is seen as inappropriate,
and 2) the sedentary nature of playing video games in general
In fiscal 2010, Best Buy continued to perform as an industry
may contribute to rising rates of obesity. These concerns can be
leader in establishing and deploying best practices for protecting
elevated when we consider the potential impact these issues
customer privacy. Working with the Retail Industry Leaders
could have on our youth. Best Buy is taking steps to address both
Association, Best Buy formed the Privacy Leaders Council to
issues through education in our stores and at bestbuy.com/family
understand and advocate for improved retail industry practices
gaming. We also provide opportunities for families to experience
for addressing privacy concerns. Best Buy also continued its long
games before purchasing them. Our policies have helped us
relationship with the Center for Information Policy Leadership
continue to build credibility, trust, loyalty and a deeper relation-
to further thought leadership in understanding and addressing
ship with a critical customer segment — families with youth.
global privacy concerns.
In fiscal 2010, we updated our approach regarding the advertising
Family Gaming at Best Buy
of M-rated video games. Historically we have not advertised
In fiscal 2010, we continued our commitment to support the
M-rated video games, either on TV or in our stores, but several
Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), an independent
factors caused us to reconsider this line of thinking. We ultimately
nonprofit group that provides standardized ratings for video
chose to advertise a single M-rated video game in fiscal 2010. This
games. We have numerous practices in place to help parents and
is why: First, mature games are among the top selling video games
youth make informed decisions about the games in our stores.
and we want to be sure our adult customers are aware that Best Buy
Our practices include:
offers some of these games. We also note that there is a difference
佡 Producing a holiday buyer’s guide which was heavily focused
between mature video games with mature themes and M-rated
on family games
佡 Age verification (also called “carding”) for M-rated (Mature) games
— including an online age-verification process at checkout
games that contain graphic and gratuitous violence. Finally, when
choosing to advertise a mature video game, we have and will
continue to approach it with heightened sensitivity, not showing
scenes of violence nor positioning the game for the teen market.
31
Best Buy was able to help hundreds of thousands of consumers
embrace the conversion from analog to digital television
broadcasting last year. We partnered with government agencies
Every day, Best Buy hopes to listen to and learn from our custom-
and nonprofit organizations and leveraged the knowledge of
ers. This is an integral activity within our business that is aligned
our U.S. store employees to help consumers make the transition
with our company values and mission. When our employees and our
to digital service. Our dedicated phone line, DTV website and
customers work together, the resulting insights and innovation
in-store workshops were just some of the resources we provided.
allow us to have a positive impact on many connected lives.
The value of these efforts was broadly recognized:
To further this work, we are developing a globally-focused
“ The National Telecommunications and
Information Administration’s (NTIA)
consumer insights team that will enable Best Buy to do even
more with deeper information about customers’ needs and
preferences. At the same time our Enterprise Privacy Group is
partnership with Best Buy helped millions of
focused on their goal to ensure that customer and employee
Americans convert to digital broadcast televi-
privacy is protected across the enterprise and is actively
sion reception. Your involvement was essential
and control with respect to their customer information.
to the program’s success — including helping
In the U.S., we support the U.S. Federal Communications
to prevent the most vulnerable over-the-air
Commission (FCC) national broadband plan and will leverage our
television viewers from losing a key connection
developing new ways to give customers greater transparency
knowledge and resources to help provide underserved and small
business customers with better connections that enhance their
to the world. Our work together enabled our
lives. We also plan to continue our process of learning from our
nation to make a smooth and effective conver-
customers and communities — to find out what they want and
sion to digital broadcast television. ”
need to lead connected, sustainable and responsible lives.
— Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary
for Communications and Information,
U.S. Department of Commerce
Enhancing customer experience through language
In 2009, we offered employees the opportunity to learn another language to better serve our customers.
Employees around the world have embraced the opportunity saying:
“ Offering this to employees is a great benefit for us, but more importantly, the customer. ”
“ Many of my stores have a significant percentage of Spanish-speaking customers and employees, so to be able (even
just a little) to have dialogue in their native language allows me to show respect. ”
“ I help two to three customers a day that I would not have been able to help before starting the program. ”
Best Buy U.S. employees can also communicate with customers through on-the-spot, over-the-phone translations in
our stores. Stores across the country have reported that this service has helped customers feel more welcomed.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Digital TV Conversion
32
Letter excerpt from
Bridging
On behalf of Bridging staff, volunteers, board members and especially our
clients, we extend a sincere thank you for your generous donation of 235 hours
by 80 Best Buy volunteers in 2009. Your gifts of time and talent allow Bridging
to continue providing families in need with quality furniture and household
items. More than 5,000 families benefit from Bridging each year. That’s 17,000
people — half of them children — whose lives were improved by the commitment and dedication of your team members. Your teams worked hard loading
and unloading trucks, inspecting and folding sheets, assembling donated
furniture and working directly with families.
In 22 years, Bridging has helped change the lives of more than 52,000 families.
The objective of Bridging’s Volunteer Program is to continue to serve families
from our community by leveraging community resources, including volunteer
time and talents. Thanks again!
Best wishes,
Diana Dalsin
Volunteer Manager
Joe McKinley
Volunteer Coordinator
Fran Heitzmann
Bridging Founder
hours
235donated
33
performance
Fiscal 2010
Philanthropic
Donations
Number
of Employee
Volunteers
Number
of Volunteer
Hours
$25.2 million
21,379
125,600
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
at a glance
people
Connecting with Communities
There are many ways to support a community — through donations, volunteering our time, and
providing other resources. Our strategy is based on our company’s value of “unleashing the power of
our people.” We have chosen to utilize the strengths of two well-informed groups — our employees
and young people — to help make decisions about where our resources can make the most difference.
We are focused on connecting these two groups with their communities because we think they best
understand their local communities’ needs. We also see this is an opportunity for growth and leadership
for both our employees and for teens, who make up a large part of our customer-base and workforce,
and who will drive technology consumption in the coming years.
In this section, you will see how we are working to connect employees and youth to their communities.
Community Challenges
challenges
response
results
looking forward
Teens around the world often feel
disconnected and undervalued.
Our social change program,
@15, recognizes the value
of teens by giving them a
platform to voice their
opinions and by supporting
their development.
Over 175,000 teens have
become members of at15.com
where they have an opportunity
to help allocate funds to
organizations that improve the
lives of teens.
@15 will continue to invest in
academic research that provides
insights into ways we can best
support teens.
Fewer girls gravitate toward
careers in technology.
Geek Squad Summer Academy
(GSSA), while open to either
gender, tends to focus on
helping girls realize their
potential and the opportunities that exist for careers in
the technology field.
In fiscal 2010, GSSA expanded
to 22 courses in which
approximately 80% of the
participants were female.
GSSA will seek partners that
can help the program expand
and reach more girls and teens.
One partnership currently being
developed is with the Girls Scouts
of America.
34
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Donations & Other
Community Investments
(in millions)
$31.8
$28.7
$33.4
$26.3
$25.2
$14.2
$13.5
$12.3
$16.5
$11.1
Here are some highlights of @15 programs that engage, support
and empower teens:
$18.1
$18.2
$9.5
Total
Donations
$12.7
$9.4
Direct Cash
Donations
Best Buy
Children’s
Foundation
Cash Donation
at15.com
At the core of Best Buy’s @15 program is at15.com, a free online
community built with teens, for teens. The website is where teens
can voice their opinion on issues, participate in polls or nominate
their school. In addition, a variety of @15 nonprofit partnerships
and programs are featured on the site, each designed to engage
$1
$1
$1
$3.4
$3.5
Non-Cash
Donations
and mobilize the more than 175,000 teen members.
@15 Exchange
06
07
08
09
FY’10
Best Buy has put the philanthropic power of @15 directly into the
hands of teens. Teens can earn points on at15.com for responding
to surveys, posting a blog entry and more. Quarterly teens can
We are proud that Best Buy’s financial gifts to the communities
allocate points they’ve earned to nonprofits that support teens.
we serve are 1.5 percent of our pre-tax earnings. Overall earnings
The percentage of points allocated determines the portion that
were down during the fiscal year and that was reflected in our
we donate to the featured charities each quarter. In fiscal 2010
reduced budget of $25.2 million in fiscal year 2010.
members directed $1 million of Best Buy’s philanthropic budget to
Connecting Teens and their Communities
16 nonprofit organizations.
Nonprofits featured in the @15 Exchange in fiscal 2010 included
Teens have always been a focus at Best Buy. They influence our
organizations such as Do Something, PACER Center’s Teens
company as consumers, as current and future employees and
Against Bullying, Ashoka’s Youth Venture, Global Citizens Corps
as contributors to the communities where we do business. They
and Genesys Works.
are early adopters, highly informed and heavy users of today’s
connected-world technologies. Their expertise and input is vital
Teach@15 Awards
to ensure that our organization continues to grow and thrive.
Starting in fiscal 2010 students could nominate their schools to
win gift cards for technology upgrades. Teens vote to select three
Fiscal 2010 marked the second year of @15, Best Buy’s community
winning schools every 15 days. First place winners receive a
giving program directed by and toward teens. Teen voices and
$1,500 gift card, second place winners receive a $1,000 gift card
perspectives are at the heart of @15’s mission — to recognize,
and third place winners receive a $500 gift card. In the first year
understand and fuel their power to contribute and connect to our
of the program 40 schools received awards totaling $43,500.
world. Best Buy has received an abundance of positive feedback
on @15 and requests for partnership from other corporations,
nonprofits, government agencies and academics. This high level
of interest reaffirms the @15 mission and indicates the core
message of @15 is resonating with the community.
U.S. Teach @15 Awards
Number of Awards
Total Dollar Amount of Awards
40 =$43,500
35
U.S. @15 Scholarships
1,551
$2.7M
$2.8M
1,000
1,000
$1.5M
$1.0M
07
08
09
Number of
Scholarships
Awarded
Dollar Amount
of Scholarships
Awarded
FY’10
@ 15 Scholarship
Students in grades 9–12 may apply for a $1,000 scholarship for
post-secondary study based on their grades, community
involvement and/or work history. In fiscal 2010, 1,000 scholarships
were awarded totaling $1 million. Since its inception in 1999, more
than $17.5 million in scholarship dollars have been awarded to
more than 13,000 eligible students.
@15 Community Impact Challenge
This program seeks teens that are ready to change their community through their own sustainable social ventures.
Each team is provided with coaching in grassroots marketing
as they compete for five $5,000 grants and five $1,500 grants.
Their peers, @15 members, vote for the ones they believe are most
deserving of grants. A total of 15 finalists are selected based on
the potential for community impact and long-term sustainability.
Teen Voice Report
To deepen our knowledge of teens, including how to support and
benefit from teen strengths, @15 worked with Search Institute,
a national leader in adolescent research, to create a groundbreaking report, Teen Voice 2009: The Untapped Strengths of
15-Year-Olds. The report, based on a national study of more than
1,750 U.S. 15-year-olds, explores the motivations, opportunities
and relationships needed to set and keep these teens on a
positive course at a critical time in life. The report informs and
supports Best Buy’s efforts to engage teens through @15. A
follow-up study is currently underway.
The complete Teen Voice 2009 report may be viewed and
downloaded at at15.com/about_at_15/insights.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
1,742
36
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Geek Squad Summer Academy (GSSA)
Best Buy’s Women’s Leadership Forum (WOLF @
Best Buy) developed a program that inspires a
younger generation to get involved firsthand with
technology and science-based career paths.
Through interactive classes and activities, the
Geek Squad Summer Academy (GSSA) was formed
to demystify the ins and outs of PCs, Apple Macs,
routers, digital music and more for young people
ages 9 to 18. The class curriculum is developed and
taught by volunteer Geek Squad agents. In addition
to benefitting kids, the GSSA has created a new
career path opportunity for our own employees
and GSSA has successfully driven brand awareness
and increased market share in communities where
academies are conducted.
The program’s popularity has driven us to expand it. Thirty
academies are planned for fiscal 2011, including new classes
in London, England. Geek Squad agents plan to train 2.7 million
Fiscal 2010 GSSA performance:
22 academies held across the U.S.
Approximately 2,000 teens participated
Courses in English, Spanish & American
Sign Language
Unleashes the power of our people:
600 employee volunteers from Geek Squad
& Best Buy stores
84 percent of employees agree or strongly agree
that they are more engaged in their own job after
volunteering for GSSA
76 percent of employees agree or strongly agree that
participation in GSSA positively affected their
ability to better serve customers
members of Girl Scouts of America and their troop leaders in
fiscal 2011.
In the spirit of making training available to participants everywhere, we plan to offer GSSA online for teens, parents and the
general public soon.
Best Buy Canada’s Teen Focus
In fiscal 2010, Best Buy Canada and Future
Shop gave nearly $2.1 million (CAD) in
monetary donations to nonprofit organizations. This was in addition to contributions to
the United Way and other local in-store
donations from employees.
37
Best Buy Canada made great strides with its community program
through the Best Buy for Kids giving program. As the umbrella
at the store level this year. Each store received $2,000 (CAD)
program for all of Best Buy Canada’s community involvement,
to support their community involvement efforts; they gave to
Best Buy for Kids includes Best Buy’s two signature programs —
schools, youth sport teams and other nonprofit organizations.
the Best in Class Fund and Tech-it Away.
Many stores enthusiastically shared their stories and photos
The Best in Class Fund is a community investment program
whose goal is to support schools across Canada and to inspire
and advance learning through the integration of technology in
the classroom. This year, 15 schools received a $20,000 (CAD)
across the organization through internal employee websites.
And in the true spirit of partnership, many stores enhanced their
community involvement program by volunteering for the
organizations that received donations.
technology grant.
Tech-it Away is a
unique program
designed to make it
Future Generations — Creating Infinite Possibilities
F
easy for schools to
Canada’s Future Shop continued its decade-long commitment to
C
recycle consumer
ssupporting students and education in Canada. Since its inception,
electronics. This
F
Future Shop has awarded 522 post-secondary scholarships
year, Best Buy
((valued at over $4,000 (CAD) each), 10 Tech Labs (valued at
Canada partnered
$
$50,000 (CAD) each) to deliver cutting edge programs to students
with schools to host
iin grades 10–12, and over 600 computers to nonprofit partners.
e-waste drives, helping
F
Future Shop believes one of the best investments it can make is
students collect unneeded electronic items from the commu-
providing tools to students and teachers to help reduce the
nity. Each participating school received a $10,000 (CAD)
digital and economic divide for disadvantaged youth.
technology grant from Best Buy. The school that brought in
the most electronics received an additional $2,000 (CAD)
from Best Buy to fund a student-led environmental project.
This year, Best Buy partnered with eight schools in Vancouver
and Toronto over two Tech-it Away event days, donating
over $85,000 (CAD) and collecting nearly 165,000 pounds
of e-waste from the community for safe recycling.
Best Buy Canada is a strong supporter of Big Brothers and
Big Sisters of Canada (BBBS), a national partner since 2002.
Donations were made to BBBS’ In-School Mentoring program
(at the national level) and individual partner agencies located
in communities near Best Buy stores were each given a laptop,,
software and Geek Squad services to further support their
In-School Mentoring programs.
Another program, the Future Generation Tech Lab program provides
funds for technology products to under-resourced schools. Five
schools were awarded grants for labs valued at $50,000 (CAD) each.
Additionally, Future Shop entered into its tenth year of partnering
with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, which opens doors for
thousands of young Canadians so they can create their own
infinite possibilities.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Best Buy Canada continued to help kids reach their full potential
38
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Volunteering = Tag Team Awards
U.S. employees who choose to volunteer are asked to track their
hours, and, after 40 hours of volunteerism, are eligible to receive
Carphone Warehouse Gets Connected with Teens
a Tag Team Award which provides a cash donation to the
The Carphone Warehouse (CPW) supports teens through
nonprofit with which they volunteer. Best Buy employees logged
Get Connected (getconnected.org.uk), a charity that offers support
more than 125,000 volunteer hours in fiscal 2010, which trans-
for young people in distress. Through phone, email or live web
lated to 2,328 Tag Team Awards totaling more than $2.5 million.
chat, young people are able to talk through next steps when faced
with difficult circumstances. CPW raises funds for the organization, providing overhead costs, including training, facilities,
equipment, and IT and marketing support. Additionally, employees
may earn extra vacation time based on the volunteer hours they
Volunteerism
& Tag Team Awards
dedicate to staffing the Get Connected hotline.
$4.0M
$3.5M
Connecting Our Employees
with Communities
Dollar Amount
of Tag Team Awards
Best Buy encourages employees to be actively involved in
improving the communities where they live and work. Local giving
151,046
125,600
59,724
42,421
20,423
community involvement) and the Retail Marketing Tool (branded
6,200
Number of
Employee
Volunteers
3,288
To assist them, we provide a number of tools, including the
intranet-based Community Planning Portal (resources for
Number of
Volunteer Hours
41,125
$522K
needs and volunteer their time with organizations they believe
make the most impact.
$2.5M
$890K
takes many forms, but the goal is to promote leadership and
growth in employees by encouraging them to identify community
165,321
21,379
9,000
1,925
2,328
resources for stores). Employees can use these tools to customize the support they give based on the needs of their community.
622
06
869
07
08
09
FY’10
Number of Tag
Team Awards
39
In fiscal 2010, local communities were further supported through
The U.S. Community Grants program is a local grant initiative
nearly $500,000 in store giving and $3.5 million in non-cash
that empowers U.S. teams to decide how Best Buy Children’s
donations.
Foundation funds are used in their local area. U.S. retail
employees at all levels are invited to participate to ensure that
the organizations receiving grants are helping to meet their
communities’ most pressing needs.
International Communities
Best Buy’s involvement in the community takes many forms. As
we open stores around the world, it is common for new store teams
to select community initiatives that address local needs. In Mexico,
The Community Grants program objectives are to:
for example, the Mundo E store chose to make a donation to a
Encourage strategic partnerships with nonprofit organizations
local library, whereas the Best Buy China team chose to contrib-
that empower teens to excel in school, engage in their
communities and develop leadership skills
Support comprehensive local business growth plans with
resources to fund nonprofits
Inspire brand and customer loyalty by strengthening
communities
Engage employees in local decision making to impact skill
development, retention and morale
ute funding for the building of a retirement home for victims of a
recent earthquake. Best Buy Turkey launched a program where
employees visit high schools, repair technology lab equipment
and teach effective use of technology equipment. Continuing the
theme of providing educational support, employees of Best Buy
Turkey also helped a children’s care center, while China’s Five Star
employees established the RMB 2M Scholarship, which provides
monetary support for 100 students from Sichuan earthquake
stricken areas who planned to enter college in 2009 and 2010.
U.S. Community
Grants
197
193
Number
of Grants
Best Buy is invested in the communities we serve, by encouraging
employees and local teens to seek connections with their
communities. We see a future where Best Buy brands continue
85
19
$1.1M
$1M
Dollar Amount
of Grants
to partner with community groups to educate and create
opportunities for growth.
Moving into fiscal 2011, Best Buy will work to further refine the
$643K
@15 programs to better engage youth, demonstrate their positive
impact on society and develop young people as leaders in using
$196K
technology to drive social change. To support these goals, we’ll
look to create ways for our employee to participate and support
07
08
09
FY’10
@15 locally, collaborate with a select group of non-profits that
engage teens directly and integrate @15 with other youth focused
initiatives currently being developed at Best Buy.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
U.S. Community Grants
40
41
performance
Percent of
Factories Audited
Average Balanced
Scorecard Results
82%
*
97%
* 100% of non-U.S.
a 5 percentage point
improvement over
fiscal 2009 results
Percent Change in
Total Number of
Supplier Code of
Conduct Violations
43% decrease
compared to fiscal 2009
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
at a glance
people
Connecting with our Exclusive Brands Suppliers
Best Buy’s commitment to people extends beyond our employees, customers and the communities
where we operate. We also care deeply about the people in our supply chain — those who work at
the factories that manufacture and assemble our Exclusive Brands products, which includes Insignia,
Dynex, Init, Rocketfish and Geek Squad brands. Developing an ethical global supply chain can be
challenging and to that end, our code of conduct and factory audit program aim to ensure that our
expectations for worker rights are clearly articulated, communicated and actualized.
Adherence to our policies is also good for business. By improving working conditions, we believe workers
will be more engaged, turnover will be reduced and there will be a reduction in occurrences of walk-outs,
strikes and strife that could potentially lead to a decrease in product quality and overall productivity.
We are approaching these goals with a strategic focus on making connections. We are connecting
directly with third-party manufacturers to communicate our policies. We are connecting internally to
continually improve our audit process, and we are making connections with other global retailers to
improve efficiencies.
Supply Chain Challenges
challenge
response
results
looking forward
Labor shortages can make current
challenges with child labor and
working hours more difficult.
Provide training to factory
management on methods to
address labor shortages, such
as increasing wages/benefits
and improving working
conditions.
Increased training and
collaboration are some of the
factors that lead to a decrease
in the percentage of audits
that identified child labor and
working hour issues.
Encourage continuous improvement
of working and living conditions and
employee benefits.
Fiscal 2010 was another difficult
year for the global economy.
Many factories around the world
struggled with the decrease in
orders and were forced to lay off
workers, or in some cases, go out
of business.
Best Buy carefully selects and
builds deeper relationships
with suppliers to reduce our
risk during challenging times.
No factories manufacturing
our Exclusive Brand products
closed during fiscal 2010.
Continue our practices in this
area, by placing importance on
long-term relationships with
strategic suppliers.
42
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
5
phases
Our audit program includes five specific phases that are focused
on driving continuous improvement and ensuring a vendor base
that has the management systems, capacity and willingness to
partner with Best Buy to meet our Supplier Code of Conduct. The
five phases include:
Factory selection
An initial screening is conducted before Best Buy
will source from a factory. In the last three fiscal
years, over 40 factories did not become Best Buy
suppliers based on the initial review.
Monitoring program
Each year we audit every non-U.S. factory in our
Exclusive Brands supply chain at least once. Those
identified as higher risk are audited more frequently.
Training and capacity building
Best Buy believes working with factories to
improve management systems and building capac-
High-level Overview
of Factory Audit Program
ity is a more effective method of raising working
conditions than punitive measures that result in
production disruptions and worker layoffs.
In last year’s Corporate Responsibility report, we discussed our
Public reporting and accountability
Exclusive Brands factory audit program in detail, including the
Beginning with our first corporate responsibility
social, environmental and security components, and how we set
report in 2006, Best Buy has annually reported
clear expectations for our manufacturing partners. We further
non-compliance findings. Each year we look for ways
clarify our program through factory management training and
to provide additional transparency so that our stakeholders have
providing a detailed overview of our implementation guidelines
confidence in our ability to manage risk and improve the working
prior to placing an initial order. The overall intent of the program is
conditions where Exclusive Brand products are manufactured.
to not only to identify areas of non-compliance, but to determine
the root cause of potential violations and help factories build the
capacity to eliminate future non-compliance. We dedicate time
and resources to identifying opportunities and threats to continual improvement, including conducting a gap analysis between
Continuous learning and improvement
Our program includes building relationships, fostering
capacity building and encouraging the adoption of
best practices.
the factories’ current practices and best practices and then
For more information about our factory audit program, please see
developing action plans to address any gaps. The data we collect
our fiscal 2009 Corporate Responsibility report.
is used to make sourcing decisions.
“
Best Buy provides a lot of training for its suppliers. In 2009, several of our employees attended two training
sessions on CSR by Best Buy. Best Buy also coordinated third-party training for factory management and employees.
Overall, Best Buy provides more training than any of our other clients.
”
— Social and Environmental Manager, Exclusive Brands Supplier
43
A lesson we have learned in ethical sourcing is that to drive
compliance with our standards and systemically improve
the living and working conditions at factories, our auditing
program needs to go beyond simple monitoring. To that end,
our program includes several aspects that help us achieve
and sustain a high-performing factory base, such as:
Analyzing factory capabilities and
willingness to collaborate
In addition to monitoring compliance with our code, we spend
time examining a factory’s ability to meet our standards over
the long term. We also investigate how willing factories are to
Fiscal 2010 Performance
Compliance with our Code of Conduct
improved in fiscal 2010. Overall there was
a 43 percent drop in the total number of
violations discovered compared to fiscal
2009. In addition, the number of critical
violations, those that directly infringe on the
rights of workers or have an immediate, detrimental impact on the environment, dropped
significantly from 62 cases in fiscal 2009 to
just 20 in fiscal 2010. Some of the reasons we
feel performance improved include:
collaborate and implement recommended improvements to
our approach 100% of potential new factories received
their facilities.
a pre-screen and pre-training to meet our Code of Conduct. By
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Building a High Performance
Factory Base
conducting this work prior to placing orders, we believe we eliminated
Management systems
One of the most critical attributes of a high-performing factory
is a strong management system. Ensuring that policies, procedures, training and clarity of roles and responsibilities are in place
significantly improves the chances that the factory will remain
compliant. In fact, inadequate management systems constitute
a high percentage of the violations of our Code of Conduct, as
opposed to actual labor or environmental violations.
low-performing factories before they entered our vendor base.
results Nine of 94 new factories failed the pre-screen. Seven
of those were eliminated after being identified as high risk. The
other two were trained and corrective actions were implemented
so they passed the second pre-contract audit.
our approach Sought to eliminate “C” and “D” performing
factories (We use a balanced scorecard with grade levels of A, B, C
and D to compare the performance of a factory. See our 2009
Corporate Responsibility report for more information on our
results In fiscal 2010, all “C”
Employee hotline
balanced scorecard grading.)
Providing an open channel of communication with consistent
and “D” level factories were either removed from our vendor base
access is critical, as a result we have instituted a hotline which
or they improved their performance to “A” or “B”.
encourages factory workers to report worker rights violations.
Best Buy investigates every call to make sure, when necessary,
corrective actions are put in place.
Shadow and validation audits
In addition to auditing our factories, we also audit our third-party
partners who conduct the factory audits on our behalf. We do this
our approach As described in our fiscal 2009 report,
we placed an increased focus on 21 strategically important
factories that were deemed at a higher-risk of failing to comply
with our standards.
results The additional trainings
and collaboration these factories received has improved
balanced scorecard results from 67 percent in fiscal 2009
to 83 percent in fiscal 2010.
by observing their audits, and sometimes conducting a separate
audit to compare our findings with those of the third party. This
helps ensure that the initial audit methodology is effective and
applied consistently everywhere.
43%
drop in violations
44
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Escalation Process
In Fiscal 2010, the Exclusive Brands and Sourcing teams developed
an escalation process that allows Best Buy to more effectively
address critical violations when they occur. We believe the
escalation process, which includes senior factory management
Best Buy joins the Global Social
Compliance Programme
In fiscal 2010, Best Buy joined the Global Social Compliance
Programme (GSCP), a business-driven coalition of companies
whose vision is to harmonize existing supply chain standards.
GSCP members, with the assistance of multiple stakeholders, are
transparently developing a set of reference tools and processes
that provide a common interpretation of working and environmental requirements. Today, factories spend much of their time
preparing for audits that are inconsistent and often conflicting,
which potentially takes time and resources away from improving working conditions. This proves to be inefficient for both
and influential leaders from the Exclusive Brands team, provides
another opportunity to communicate our standards, guidelines
and expectations. The process focuses on several key areas:
Quickly identifying corrective actions
Ensuring factory management is aware of the non-compliance
and is committed to resolving the situation
Exploring ways to improve factory management systems
for the long term
Increasing decision making speed to more quickly improve
working conditions
the manufacturer and the buying companies and does little to
drive improvement. By joining the GSCP, we are seeking to align
our factory audit program with a shared, global and sustainable
approach. By doing so, we will ultimately be able to share factory
audit data which will then allow a shift in time and resources to
remediation, capacity building and trainings that will improve
In fiscal 2010, our Exclusive Brands factory audit program
working conditions, lower costs and improve efficiency in the
results improved markedly compared to fiscal 2009. We are
supply chain.
taking several steps in fiscal 2011 to continue that trend,
Lower complexity and costs
Benefits for
Best Buy
beginning with the process of harmonizing with the GSCP code
and audit methodology. We hope to pilot the updated program
Better use of limited resources
with a select number of factories next year. As we adopt the
Increase focus on remediation and
GSCP, we will also increase our focus on the environmental
capacity building
More effective risk management
impact of the supply chain. We plan to explore connections
with nonprofits, NGOs, academics and others to help us with
our goals and augment our internal capabilities.
Clarity and consistency in worker
Benefits for
Our
Suppliers
standards and environmental
requirements
Fewer audits with a focus on
building capacity
Time and resources to reinvest in
improving working conditions as well
as production quality and safety
Clear understanding of their rights
Benefits for
Workers
Improvement of working conditions
Opportunity to monitor and challenge
their employers
Ability to raise questions directly
with purchasing companies
Finally, as more of our manufacturing occurs outside of China,
we intend to incorporate a more informed and formalized
global approach, one that objectively compares audit results
for factories in different countries by layering in country-level
risk analysis.
45
Key Performance Indicators
1
100%
100%
137
118
97%
Percent of primary
Exclusive Brands
suppliers that have
undergone human
rights audits
Factory Audits:
Non-compliance
0%
37%
142
Number of factories
inspected
0%
0%
Harassment
& abuse
33%
163
9%
149
Number of
full factory audits
Health & safety
6%
4%
2%
Forced labor
123
11%
18%
9%
26
Environmental
47%
11
5
33
16
7
Number of
terminated factories
36%
20%
Potential new
factories rejected
based on initial audit
0%
1%
Wage &
compensation
1%
Discrimination
08
09
FY’10
0%
Factory Audits:
Balanced Scorecard Results
0%
0%
Right to freely
seek association
69%
60%
62%
Working hours
19%
23%
5%
80%
13%
2%
% Receiving
an “A” rating
8%
1%
6%
77%
Child labor 2
77%
% Receiving
a “B” rating
08
09
FY’10
17%
0%
0%
% Receiving
a “C” rating
0%
% Receiving
a “D” rating
1 Factory audit results reflect the performance of factories that manufactured
Exclusive Brands product within each fiscal year. Factory audit performance reflects
comprehensive audit results only and does not include follow-up audits findings.
08
09
FY’10
2 For fiscal 2010 results, working hours or safety violations impacting legal juvenile
workers (ages 16–18) have been reclassified under working hours or health and safety.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Exclusive Brands
Factory Audits
46
Recycler of the Year
The Best Buy U.S. corporate campus
received the 2009 Recycler of the
Year Award from the Recycling
Association of Minnesota for our
efforts creating a recycling and
composting program in the
restrooms and cafeteria.
Best Buy U.S. — Volume of
Corporate Campus Composting
FY’10
FY’09
107 tons
108 tons
Green IT
interests in addressing climate change. Best Buy is an innovator
Best Buy’s IT continued to reduce
in offering our customers products and services that enable
energy consumption and improve
them to live more sustainably. At the same time, Best Buy is
methods for quantifying energy
“ Best Buy’s commitment to sustainability aligns with global
savings. We added more virtual servers
addressing our own carbon footprint resulting in a positive
in fiscal 2010 and while our store count
impact on the economic, environmental and societal well-being
and business grew, our physical server
growth remained nearly flat. Working
with Xcel Energy, we are testing the
impact of raising the temperature
slightly in our data centers to further
reduce our energy use.
In the future, we will look for ways to
consolidate our data centers within
the global scope of our operations
improving how we track and measure
their energy use. We plan to invest in a
centralized, ultrasonic humidification
model to replace our current system,
which not only will save energy but
is estimated to pay back on the
investment in one year or less. We
will continue to focus on measuring
the power used per square foot of
equipment, to find areas where we
can improve efficiency.
of the planet. ”
For our complete Climate Change Policy, go to:
bby.com/cmn/files/Climate-Change-Policy-BBY-3.18.10.pdf.
47
performance
Pounds of Electronics
Collected for Reuse
or Recycling (for U.S.
Best Buy stores only)
Pounds of Appliances
Collected for Reuse
or Recycling (for U.S.
Best Buy stores only)
Carbon Emissions
Reduction over 2005
Baseline (for U.S.
Best Buy stores only)
74 million
66 million
162,155
metric tonnes
Percent of U.S. Best
Buy Stores Built in
FY’10 that are LEED
Certified or Pursuing
LEED Certification
69%
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
at a glance
technology
& power
Environmental Sustainability and
the Consumer Electronics Value Chain
As we work to discover new and innovative ways to engage in the connected world and, at the same
time, lessen our impact on the environment, we are faced with some challenges. Product life cycles
are shortening, which generates incremental e-waste, and total energy consumed by consumer
electronics is growing.
All along the technology value chain, people and power play an important role. Best Buy is working
diligently to understand the environmental impact along the entire value chain and to find opportunities
to gain efficiency by reducing energy use, materials and waste where possible.
Our strategy for making improvements is all about connections. For consumers, our goal is to be
with them every step of the way. We can help them choose energy-efficient products, teach them
to use products wisely, and make it easier for them to reuse or recycle responsibly. We are also
making connections that help us reduce the carbon footprint throughout the lifecycle of a product,
including its manufacturing, transportation, consumer use and recycling. This chapter outlines many
of the ways we are addressing these environmental challenges along each step of the consumer
electronics value chain.
Environmental Sustainability Challenges
challenge
response
results
looking forward
Potential risks and implications
resulting from climate change
Further refine our Energy
Management System —
revise processes and
standards, enhance
communication and training,
and clearly reiterate roles
and responsibilities. Help
our customers choose more
energy-efficient products.
We believe we can continue to
reduce our energy consumption
and carbon emissions in ways
that deliver value to our
shareholders, customers, and
employees.
Continue to engage in the public
policy dialogue and monitor new
environmental legislation in order
to proactively mitigate risk and
identify opportunities for growth.
Helping employees understand
their environmental impact
at work
Develop and share online
reports about recycling
volume, energy management
and energy use with
employees.
The total electrical energy used
was flat compared to calendar
2008 despite a 5.02% increase
in retail square feet.
Continue education and
communication about recycling
processes and energy management.
Expand and share our energy
management strategies and tools
across our enterprise.
48
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Product Design
Based on these results, the Insignia design team set a goal of
As new consumer electronic products are developed and
ogy by the end of fiscal 2012. The change should result in reduced
adopted, the percentage of household energy use devoted to
energy consumption overall, but also require smaller packaging
those devices is also increasing. While many products are being
(due to thinner screens) resulting in more efficient shipping. LED-
designed to use energy more efficiently than ever, including
LCD televisions are also attractive to Exclusive Brands because
our Exclusive Brands, people are using technology at an ever-
fewer hazardous materials are required to manufacture televi-
accelerating rate. Our challenge is to create and sell products
sions lit by LED versus CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent light).
shifting the design of all Insignia televisions to LED-LCD technol-
that consumers demand, but also minimize the resources those
products consume. In some cases technology can even be part
Product Safety
of the solution to address environmental challenges. We have
Our product safety program is driven by two objectives:
found that we can reduce the environmental impact of our
proactively address safety concerns and always take care of the
products through improved product and package design.
customer. We have many checks and balances in place to help
meet our objectives. Once an Exclusive Brands product has been
Smarter Television Design
selected to be a part of our assortment, Best Buy’s safety team
Consumer demand for large screen televisions continued to
enlists a nationally recognized testing lab to provide an assess-
climb in fiscal 2010, due in part to falling prices and the growing
ment of the standards the product must meet. This information is
availability of High Definition (Hi-Def) programming. Large
routed to the supplier, who is then obligated to complete and pass
screen televisions can potentially consume more fabrication
all testing before the item is placed on the shelf. Once a product is
resources and energy to operate than smaller units. Our
in production, a third-party contractor conducts a safety audit
Exclusive Brands engineers sought technologies that would help
program. Corrective action is taken if there are audit findings.
diminish this potential increase in environmental impact.
We continue to monitor our products’ safety performance after
In 2009, Insignia was the first consumer electronics brand to
they reach the market. We track call center logs, and if potential
bring 19- and 22-inch LED-LCD televisions to store shelves. Both
safety hazards are found, we take swift action to protect our
sets featured sleek, slim screens (less than 1.5 inches thick) and
customers. If we identify reliability and quality patterns, we notify
were more energy efficient than the ENERGY STAR® standard.
our suppliers in order to determine necessary modifications.
While several other manufacturers have utilized LED technology
for larger television sets, the two new models from Insignia
To stay on top of regulatory issues and trends that impact our
utilized an edge-lit LED-LCD variation on the technology that
product safety program, we maintain membership in and engage
delivered the thin factor, while lighting the screen more effi-
industry coalitions such as the Retail Industry Leaders Association
ciently using fewer LED bulbs. These features translated to 40
(RILA), the International Product Health and Safety Organization
percent less energy consumption in the Insignia brand televisions
(IPHSO) and the National Retail Federation (NRF). These
as compared with standard LCD televisions 1.
organizations have dedicated committees for advancing product
1 According to the new ENERGY STAR® 4.0 standard, which went into effect May 1, 2010
safety through which we have gained insight into best practices.
Best Buy joined the
Sustainability Consortium...
to further our understanding of product sustainability. Through this organization, we are
involved in developing consumer product life-cycle research and global measurement and
reporting standards. The Sustainability Consortium is an independent group of scientists and
engineers from leading academic research institutions around the world who engage with
other leading researchers from the NGO, Government, and Industrial sectors to build a scientific
foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. Members of the
Consortium work to develop sustainability measurement and reporting standards across all sectors,
to identify what data should be collected, how to collect it, and how it should be reported
for different areas of environmental and social impact. sustainabilityconsortium.org
49
One area where we can reduce environmental impact is through
PVC content in cables that connect products to other products
and power sources. Product managers are evaluating all options
for manufacturing environmentally friendly cables without
sacrificing performance or quality. In addition, Exclusive Brands
engineers are working on increasing the number of wireless
connectivity options to reduce the need for cables, including
wireless home theater products.
Rock
etfish
Manufacturing
packa
ging b
efore
and
We expect our Exclusive Brands product suppliers
after
to conduct business in a way that demonstrates
respect for the environment and aligns with our
Advances in Sustainable Packaging Practices
sustainability goals. Beyond being aware of potential
Best Buy seeks to establish best practices around our end-
environmental issues and sharing in the commitment
to-end packaging design and manufacturing process. While new,
to conserve natural resources, we request that suppliers take steps
energy efficient technologies, such as LED, were utilized for
to minimize the negative impact on the environment. Furthermore,
products themselves, Best Buy met with the designers, printers
suppliers are expected to comply with local environmental laws
and manufacturers of packaging for Exclusive Brands products
and regulations. Other best practices we encourage our Exclusive
to develop designs which required less plastic or no plastic, were
Brands suppliers to practice include:
smaller in size and used recycled materials, non-solvent coatings
and organic inks wherever possible.
Plastic Reduction
Waste disposal and treatment
1
Non-hazardous waste is collected, segregated and
disposed of appropriately, and hazardous waste is
In 2009, Exclusive Brands began shifting away from clear plastic
collected and treated in accordance with applicable laws
blister pack containers and clamshell packages toward easy-to-
and regulations.
open, recyclable boxes for several product categories. The
packaging team also made a concerted effort to reduce packaging size when possible. These transitions resulted in lower fossil
Material and energy consumption
2
fuel consumption and shipping resources as more products could
be packed into fewer shipping boxes for transportation. Total
packaging reductions for fiscal 2010 included over 125 tons of
PVC and other plastics.
Many Exclusive Brand products shipped in fiscal 2010 met these
new criteria. We are currently in the process of reducing our inventory of older, less environmentally friendly packaging in stores,
so that consumers find only newer, environmentally conscious
options on our shelves. This includes phasing out PVC packaging
for all Rocketfish and Dynex home theater, audio and computer
cable assortments.
Best Buy Exclusive Brands
Factories monitor their use of materials and energies
and take steps to minimize their consumption.
Environmentally friendly production
3
Factories are encouraged to adopt and implement an
environmentally friendly production methodology to
minimize negative impacts.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
PVC Reduction
50
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Best Buy’s Green Campus
In fiscal 2010, our Facilities team converted approximately
1.4 acres of manicured landscaping at our Richfield, Minnesota
headquarters into native prairie grass and plants. Native
plants reduce the need for water, fertilizer, and the gasoline
required to operate maintenance equipment in those areas.
In addition, we partnered with our onsite café and catering
service to launch a variety of sustainability initiatives. They
included introducing a farmer’s market to the Best Buy campus
and creating a small garden plot on campus that they use to
grow some of the food they serve in our campus cafeteria.
“ We have already
achieved our goal
to reach an 8%
carbon emissions
reduction by 2012.”
51
We continued our partnership with the Coalition for Responsible
Transportation (CRT), working with member companies to
proactively minimize diesel-related emissions and improve
SM
sustainability practices in U.S. ports. As a member, we participate
in a collaborative dialogue with policy makers at the federal, state
and local levels to ensure that our industry’s perspective is part of
the solution for port-related legislative and regulatory processes.
Building a More Fuel Efficient Geek Squad Fleet
In fiscal 2010, we experienced a slight reduction in miles traveled
by our Geek Squad in-home services team, which we attribute to
Transportation
a more effective routing system. We are also testing the use of
A major component of our business is moving products around
— whether we are shipping products from our suppliers to our
fully electric vehicles and replaced many of our full-size cargo
vans with smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles.
stores or from our stores to our customers. We also consume
In fiscal 2011, we intend to invest in cargo vans that have smaller
fossil fuels through services like Geek Squad, whose agents
engines and to monitor technology solutions that may be able to
travel to businesses and homes. We consistently look for ways to
help us measure our fleet usage more effectively.
improve efficiency in this area of our business to reduce energy
use and costs.
Retail Operations
Best Buy is a SmartWay Partner
®
Best Buy has partnered with SmartWay since 2007 to help us
reduce the environmental impact of transportation in our
operations. SmartWay is an initiative of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) that helps transportation carriers and
shippers improve their efficiency. In fiscal 2009, we set a goal
to have 100 percent of our long haul carriers in the SmartWay
program and in fiscal 2010, we achieved that goal.
We further leveraged SmartWay to develop partnerships with
suppliers and third party shippers to reduce the number of miles
traveled with an empty truck. In fiscal 2010, we were honored
In our U.S. operations, Best Buy became a partner in the U.S.
EPA’s Climate Leaders program. Climate Leaders is an industrygovernment partnership that works with companies to develop
comprehensive climate change strategies. Partner companies
complete a corporate-wide inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions based on a quality management system, set aggressive reduction goals and voluntarily submit annual reports to the
EPA. We have already achieved our goal to reach an 8 percent
carbon emissions reduction (per U.S. retail square foot over
2005 baseline) by 2012, and are working to establish a new goal
to continue this trend.
by the EPA for excellence in this area, receiving the SmartWay
Excellence Award 2009 in the Shipper category.
“No Idling” Policy
We set an internal goal to expand the “no idling” policy that we
instituted in fiscal 2009 from all U.S. retail stores to all of our
U.S. distribution centers. While we were not able to meet our
goal, we made progress and plan to continue working on making
“ EPA is pleased to have Best Buy as a partner
in EPA’s Climate Leaders program. Best Buy clearly
understands that industry leaders must also lead in
the fight against climate change.
”
— Gina McCarthy, U.S. EPA Assistant Administrator
for Air & Radiation
this policy feasible in each of our locations.
We achieved our goal by training U.S. employees in each store
to understand energy management through communication,
education and reporting. With a focus on eliminating waste, our
stores have learned they can impact and control their energy use.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Coalition for Responsible Transportation
52
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
We further take a leadership role through our active
In July 2009, three stores in Texas (Atascocita, Waxahachie and
membership with the following organizations:
New Braunfels) were the first to earn official LEED certification
Alliance to Save Energy
under the Volume Certification program, a U.S. Green Building
The Alliance to Save Energy is a non-profit coalition of business,
Council initiative in which store prototypes are pre-certified.
government, environmental and consumer leaders. The organiza-
In fiscal 2010, 36 of our new stores in the U.S. were designed and
tion supports energy efficiency as a cost-effective energy
built according to LEED’s pre-certified plans and specifications.
resource under existing market conditions. It advocates energy-
Seven of these stores are currently under review by the U.S.
efficiency policies that minimize costs to society and individual
Green Building Council (USGBC), and all the rest will be submitted
consumers, and that lessen greenhouse gas emissions and their
for review in calendar 2010. On August 12, 2009, Best Buy was
impact on the global climate. ase.org/
approved for additional LEED credits to increase its pre-certified
Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy
level to 35 points — the Gold level. Moving forward, Best Buy will
(BICEP) — BICEP’s members believe that climate change will
impact all sectors of the economy and that various business
perspectives are needed to provide a full spectrum of viewpoints
continue to monitor, evaluate and introduce improvements
to our building program, striving towards even more energy
efficient Best Buy stores.
for solving the climate and energy challenges facing America.
BICEP’s goal is to work directly with key allies in the business
community and with members of Congress to pass meaningful
energy and climate change legislation that is consistent with our
core principles. ceres.org/bicep
High Performance Buildings
linois
elmont, Il
mball & B
Kim
Another way we are reducing our carbon footprint is through
our High Performance Building program. This program is focused
on developing our stores into positive shopping and working
environments for our customers and employees. A few key
elements include:
Skylights and dimmable lighting
Skylights introduce abundant natural light, and allow us to turn
off artificial light when adequate daylight is entering the space.
Low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) paints,
varnishes, and cleaning supplies
We specify finishes that meet or exceed VOC limit
recommendations to help provide good indoor air quality for
employees and customers.
Water efficient fixtures
Best Buy specifies low-flow urinal and toilet flush valves and
metered faucets in all of our U.S. stores’ restrooms.
Stafford
Townsh
ip,
New JJers
ey
“
The Volume Certification program provides
companies with the tools to integrate LEED into
their standard practices. As one of the country’s most
recognized retailers, Best Buy has the opportunity
to educate hundreds of thousands of customers who
visit their stores each year about high-performance,
energy-efficient, healthy green buildings.
”
— Doug Gatlin, Vice President, Market Development,
U.S. Green Building Council
Best Buy uses the LEED rating system to measure the success
of our High Performance Building program.
FY’11 projection
FY’10
FY’09
FY’08
FY’07
Energy saved due to conservation & efficiency improvements
over 2005 baseline (in millions)
224 kWh
176.3 kWh
109.6 kWh
48.0 kWh
33.6 kWh
CO2e reduced over 2005 baseline (in metric tonnes)
203,004
162,155
110,569
42,308
27,331
Direct CO2e emissions by weight (per sq. ft.)
49.8 lbs
51.6 lbs
54.2 lbs
57.9 lbs
58.6 lbs
53
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Product Use
More and more consumers are demanding products that are
energy efficient. We are working to meet this demand by stocking
our shelves with the latest and greatest in technology that’s good
for our planet.
Powering Down Technology Not in Use
Best Buy researched ways to save energy by evaluating how
consumers connect their electronics to power sources. For
example, even when technology isn’t being used, it can consume
“phantom” power, whereby trickles of energy are needlessly
consumed when devices are idle or turned off. Three energy
saving surge protector/power bars were introduced in 2009,
including two for personal computers and one for home theaters,
to help solve the problem. Each model incorporates master/
master-controlled outlet circuitry, which means that a user can
plug their primary component, such as a personal computer or
television, into a master outlet. When the primary component is
powered off or “goes to sleep,” power is automatically shut off to
all other devices plugged into the master-controlled outlets, such
as printers, monitors, external hard drives, Blu-ray/DVD players,
and audio-visual receivers. The feature helps consumers regulate
their energy consumption seamlessly by powering off electronics
that are not being used at the moment.
Energy Star® and Exclusive Brands
Best Buy’s Exclusive Brands offers
consumers a wide variety of choices that
help them reduce energy consumption
during product use. One example is our
focus on increasing the total number of
ENERGY STAR® qualified televisions we
offer. This effort was rewarded when 100 percent of Insignia LCD
televisions on Best Buy shelves met the ENERGY STAR® TV
standards in fiscal 2010.
In addition, all digital photo frames from Insignia and Dynex were
ENERGY STAR® compliant; the only brand of such frames sold in
Best Buy stores whose full line met this standard in calendar
year 2009.
Focusing on
energy efficiency
at Audio Visions
It’s not often that energy efficiency is associated
with home theater systems costing in excess of six
figures, but that’s exactly the way these systems are
approached by Audio Visions, Best Buy’s high-end
consumer electronics brand. In an effort to meet the
evolving demands of consumers and to satisfy new
regulation, our employees have created innovative
ways to increase energy efficiency in residential
buildings. As a result, staff members have become
LEED certified and have created a full complement
of environmentally friendly services now integrated
into our installation process, including:
佡 Occupancy and vacancy sensors
佡 Master switches to turn off all lighting,
electronics, HVAC, etc.
佡 Security systems that notify home owner
when windows are open
佡 Home energy management monitors
and dimming lights to 80 percent
佡 Intelligent electronics to fully power off
equipment when not in use.
54
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Energy-efficient
products
Connecting with Utility Companies
1
Consumer electronics continue to emerge as a means for people
to connect not only with family and friends but also with entertainment, music, movies, news, information and so much more. As
technology products shift from discretionary items to necessities,
24,296,000
Number of ENERGY STAR
qualified products sold
®
the energy required to power all of these products has grown
substantially. Many consumers are seeking ways they can reduce
their own energy consumption, and many of them are looking to
Best Buy to provide information and solutions.
To meet this emerging expectation, Best Buy has connected with
utility companies around the U.S. to educate consumers and
provide energy-efficient products and solutions. To facilitate
these relationships, Best Buy recently hosted a summit with over
100 utility companies. According to the president of D&R
International, David Steiner, “D&R, through its work with the U.S.
796,496,972
Total energy savings
(kWh)
Department of Energy’s ENERGY STAR® program, appreciates
Best Buy’s leadership in pushing ENERGY STAR® through higher
qualified product performance and expectations, more active
consumer engagement about energy efficiency, and closer
industry collaborations. Best Buy has been an exemplary partner
that has raised the stakes for other program partners.”
$91,463,867
Consumer utility
bill savings 2
Through our partnership with utility companies, such as Pacific
Gas and Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE), we
are working to help customers lower their energy usage, save
money and reduce their impact on the environment. Like Best Buy,
many utility companies are interested in helping their customers
reduce their energy usage; in fact, they are even willing to
incentivize those customers through rebates when they purchase
1,655,738,086
Reduced carbon
emissions
(pounds of CO2) 3
ENERGY STAR® qualified products. Utility companies view Best
Buy as an ideal partner given our direct interaction with consumers. Ultimately, our intent is to help make energy-efficient
products more affordable for consumers so together we can
reduce the environmental impact of appliances and consumer
electronics.
According to Helen Burt, senior vice president and chief customer
137,554
officer of PG&E, “This program allows us to broaden the reach of
Equivalent cars
removed from
the road 4
products that add value to our customers by ensuring access to
the next generation of energy-efficient electronics. Last year,
northern and central California residents saved more than three
megawatts and 40 gigawatt-hours of electricity, equivalent to
1
2
3
4
powering over 5,500 homes for one year, by purchasing more
Calculation used to determine reductions in energy requirements provided by the
U.S. EPA and savings represent the difference over the life of the product between
the average energy use of non-ENERGY STAR® qualified products and the average
energy use of ENERGY STAR® qualified products.
Energy costs based on 11.27 cents per kWh.
CO2 output amount based on 1.54 pounds of CO2 per kWh.
Based on emissions totals of 12,037 pounds CO2 /car/year.
energy-efficient electronics. Best Buy achieved 40 percent of this
total by incorporating the program’s energy efficiency specifications
55
Electric Vehicles
suppliers to meet the program’s energy efficiency specifications.“
Pike Research reported in 2010 that by 2016, 466 million electric
“SCE continually searches for new ways to effectively educate
customers about how they can save energy, money and the
environment,” says Erwin Furukawa, vice president of SCE’s
vehicles will be sold worldwide. Best Buy believes in the future
of these products and began implementing plans to test the sales
of electric vehicles in September 2007, beginning with Segway
Customer Programs and Services. “Our partnership with Best Buy
allows us to tell the energy efficiency story and bring solutions
directly to the consumer, right in the store where they are making
purchase decisions.”
Best Buy and SCE are also working together to address the needs
of low-income customers through the California Alternative
Rates for Energy (CARE) and Family Electric Rates Assurance
(FERA) programs offered in our stores. This collaboration with
SCE is an entirely new way for Best Buy associates to engage
with customers, and we have successfully enrolled dozens of
Southern Californians in these programs this year. CARE provides
income-qualified customers a 20 percent discount on their
electric bills. FERA is a “volume discount” program where families
who would normally be charged one rate for their electric
scooters in Oregon and Northern California stores. In June 2009,
service are charged at a different, lower rate. Both programs
Best Buy began selling electric bicycles, scooters and motor-
contain educational elements to ensure customers understand
cycles in select stores in the Los Angeles, San Francisco and
the importance of conservation and energy efficiency.
Portland markets. We even offer an electric car along with
electric bikes, scooters, and motorcycles at our first European
Home Energy Management
When it comes to sustainability solutions, energy-efficient
products are just the first step. As a trusted source for the latest
in technology, Best Buy is well positioned to take a leadership role
in the emerging markets of home energy audits and surveys,
home energy management devices and alternative/renewable
energy sources, such as solar and wind. These categories provide
consumers with the benefit of saving money by reducing energy
usage or minimizing their environmental footprint by reducing the
use of carbon based energy sources and in many cases both
benefits can be achieved. Through the connection that Best Buy
employees have with customers, we also see an opportunity to
help them understand the advantages of sustainability and
energy efficiency solutions. All of this makes us excited about
what the future holds for these emerging categories.
Best Buy branded store located in the U.K.
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
into the private label televisions it manufactures and asking its
56
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Recycling - U.S.
73.9
Volume of Electronics
recycled or reused
(in millions of pounds)
Recycling and Waste Reduction
Recycling is an area where Best Buy believes we can make a large
impact. Our goal is simply to connect customers and employees
with easy options for recycling and reducing waste. As a result of
our efforts, we have diverted 1.4 million units, or nearly 140 million
pounds, from the waste stream and recovered raw materials that
65.8
29.9
Volume of Appliances
recycled or reused
will reduce the energy required to mine for those raw materials.
(in millions of pounds)
In fiscal 2010, we expanded our recycling program by adding an
everyday in-store recycling option across the U.S., creating the
61.4
63.0
most convenient and comprehensive solution for customers to
Volume of
Cardboard/Paper
recycled (in millions of pounds)
dispose of their appliances and electronics. With this recycling
program in place, we have set an aggressive goal of recycling
1 billion pounds of consumer products. We expect to meet this
goal in five to six years.
46.1
6.2
6.3
Volume of Pallets/Wood
recycled or reused 2
When we launched the first nationwide retail consumer
(in millions of pounds)
electronics recycling “take back” program, the response we
received from consumers illustrated the huge unmet need for
.9
a place to easily and responsibly recycle old electronics.
Volume of Plastic
recycled 3
Program highlights:
(in millions of pounds)
佡 Recycled 74 million pounds of consumer electronics and
66 million pounds of appliances. Our recycling efforts significantly reduced the amount of electronic waste that ended up
in landfills and also served to retire old, inefficient appliances,
reducing energy demand in many communities.
1.6
Volume of Metal
recycled 1 (in millions of pounds)
.8
佡 Received extremely positive customer feedback.
佡 Brought new customers to our stores.
In addition to the in-store “take back” program in which we accept
.2
09
products such as TVs, DVD players, computers, printers, and
other small electrics for recycling — most for free, with a few
FY’10
restrictions, Best Buy’s U.S. stores offer more recycling and reuse
options than any other retailer:
Recycling - Canada
.5
佡 U.S. Best Buy stores have free kiosks, just inside the door, for
Volume of Electronics
recycled or reused
(in millions of pounds)
10.0
Volume of
Cardboard/Paper
recycled (in millions of pounds)
people to drop off inkjet cartridges, rechargeable batteries,
CDs/DVDs and gift cards.
佡 Generally, we’ll remove an old TV or appliance from a customer’s
home for free when a replacement Best Buy product is delivered
or installed by Geek Squad® or Best Buy® Home Delivery.
佡 Without a purchase, for a minimal fee, Best Buy will remove up
to two TVs or appliances from a person’s home for recycling.
佡 Our Best Buy Trade-in program allows customers to trade their
FY’10
1 Metal recycling is from project and store material only, does not include metal recycled
through the appliance recycling programs.
2 Pallet recycling only includes the material that was recycled, does not include repartee/reuse units.
3 Plastic recycling is from store and distribution center recycling programs, does not include
plastic recycled through CE recycling programs.
used products for a Best Buy gift card worth the value of the item.
57
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Recycling Partners
To ensure all products collected for recycling through Best Buy
are handled responsibly, we partner directly with qualified and
respected recycling companies. Our recycling partners must
uphold Best Buy’s publicly stated recycling standards and align
with industry best practices. See the appendix for details.
Supporting E-cycling Public Policy
In September 2009, Best Buy hosted U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minnesota) and members of Minnesota’s electronics recycling
industry at a Best Buy store to support federal e-waste legislation.
The Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act,
sponsored by Senator Klobuchar, is the first step in bringing
together manufacturers, retailers, recyclers and research institutes
to find solutions to the challenges of e-waste. The legislation would:
Create competitively-awarded grants for universities,
government labs, and private industry to research and
develop demonstration projects for recycling, reuse, refurbishment and life-cycle analysis
Call for a study by the National Academy of Science to
look at barriers and opportunities to increase electronic
device recycling and reduce the use of hazardous materials
in electronic products
Direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make
grants available for curriculum development for engineering
students and professionals in electronics manufacturing, design,
refurbishing and recycling industries
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar with Geek Squad agents
“ Technology continues to advance,
but our ways of disposing of electronic
equipment haven’t kept up. We need a
national solution to ensure that all
unwanted electronics are discarded
in a safe and responsible manner.
I commend Best Buy for its leadership
This year, we doubled the activity of our existing online trade-in
option and added a new trade-in option at all U.S. stores.
Customers who bring select electronics (previously bought att
Best Buy) to the Geek Squad Precinct can receive a Best Buy
gift card for the value of the product based on a Geek Squad
agent assessment. The online trade-in program can be used
011,
even if the product was not purchased at Best Buy. In fiscal 2011,
most stores will be enabled to accept qualified products thatt
were not purchased at Best Buy, with some exclusions.
Visit bestbuytradein.com for details.
in helping consumers recycle
responsibly.”
— Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator (D-Minnesota)
58
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Recycling in Employee Break Rooms
We set a goal for fiscal 2010 to provide a comprehensive recycling
solution for our U.S. retail stores. While many stores already
recycle cardboard and paper, as of January 2010, nearly all U.S.
retail stores now have a break room recycling option. Not only are
we helping the environment, but we have also reduced our trash
hauling expenses. In fact, we reduced the volume of trash that
would typically go to a landfill by approximately 70 percent.
Note: Recycled waste includes cardboard, paper, plastic, wood,
metal, gift cards, etc.
In the U.K., The Carphone Warehouse achieved outstanding
results with their zero-waste initiative at their logistics center in
Wednesbury, which includes a repair center and a warehouse.
Partnering with The Green House, an environmental management
company, CPW set goals to increase sustainability, reduce costs,
improve efficiency and controls in order to achieve zero waste
going to landfills. In the last quarter of fiscal 2010 (December
2009 – February 2010), The Carphone Warehouse recycled as
Five Star Appliance recycled over
415,000
units of electronics and
appliances in calendar 2009.
much waste as it generated!
MyMobile Recycling
The Carphone Warehouse provides consumers the option
to recycle their mobile phone handsets through the MyMobile
recycling program. For every handset recycled, we donate
£10 (approximately $15 USD) that is split equally between
The Carphone Warehouse Foundation and Get Connected
(getconnected.org.uk), a nonprofit organization that helps young
people get free, confidential help. The Carphone Warehouse
Foundation also provides small grants to charities nominated
by employees.
Tech-It Away
Both Best Buy and Future Shop in Canada made great strides
in 2009 in the environment and community. Across Canada,
electronic recycling increased 40 percent over the previous fiscal
year. This was largely due to successful initiatives like Tech-It
Away and the introduction of electronics return to retail pilot
programs in select Canadian markets. Best Buy and Future Shop
brands will continue to expand their electronics recycling
programs during fiscal 2011.
In addition to electronics recycling, Best Buy Canada continues to
increase its cardboard and paper recycling efforts and recycled
over 10 million pounds of cardboard and paper last year.
59
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
rt
In Canada, our Best Buy store employees helped schools collect
nearly 165,000 pounds of e-waste from the community during
two Tech-it Away recycling drives in 2009. By partnering with
high schools in the Vancouver and Toronto areas, Best Buy helped
teens promote the recycling drive in their communities and Best
Buy employees assisted with the collection at each high school.
Each school received $10,000 (CAD) in new technology from Best
Buy for their environmental efforts, and the school that collected
the most e-waste received an additional $2,000 (CAD) donation
Our carbon reduction work has led to the discovery of untapped
to their environmental club.
opportunities that have the potential to deliver benefits many
years into the future. Our goal is to develop a cohesive program
that spans our operations internationally. This includes expanding our High Performance Building program, improving our
recycling programs, and exploring reuse/resale markets.
We plan to make more connections by partnering with our
customers, suppliers, government and other external organiza-
We will look for ways to expand our assortment of sustainability
tions to find new and innovative ways to lessen our impact on the
solutions that meet customer’s needs and expectations — through
environment throughout the product lifecycle. Best Buy will
our own Exclusive Brands product lines and from our vendor
support the development of guidelines and standards that are
partners. We will seek products that consume less energy, use
good for consumers, the environment and for our economic
less toxic material and are constructed of recycled and recyclable
sustainability by participating in partnerships and coalitions and
material. And we hope to further expand our highly successful
engaging in public policy discourse.
recycling and reuse program — both in the U.S. and in some of our
international operations — to make it even more convenient for
consumers to dispose of old electronics in a responsible manner.
For further information about our policies and activities, please
visit bby.com/category/sustainability/.
60
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Awards and Recognition
As our corporate responsibility program continues to evolve, we have been fortunate to be recognized
for our efforts along the way. Over the course of fiscal 2010, we received numerous awards and
appeared on several “Best of” lists, including Ethisphere’s list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.
While we greatly appreciate being recognized for our sustainability efforts, what is truly important to
us is the progress we are making to drive sustainability practices into our core business functions
and throughout the organization.
awards & recognition
source
2009 World’s Most Ethical Companies
Ethisphere
Most Admired Companies (37th overall/2nd among Specialty Retailers)
Fortune
2009 Best Employer Five Star Appliance
China Human Resources Commission
Best Model of Human Resources & Most Popular Employer Best Buy China
51job, Inc.
2009 Smart Way Excellence in Shipping
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2009 ENERGY STAR ® Excellence in Appliance and Electronics Retailing Best Buy U.S.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Highest in Customer Satisfaction among the Largest Appliance Retailers Best Buy U.S.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Corporate Campus recognized as an ENERGY STAR ® building (6th year in a row)
J.D. Power and Associates
2009 Recycler of the Year Award Best Buy U.S. Corporate Campus
Recycling Association of Minnesota
100% Corporate Equality Index Score (6th year in a row)
Human Rights Campaign
Detroit LatIN Group — 2009 Annual Partners
Detroit Hispanic Development Center
2010 Diversity Leader Awards
Diversity Journal
BRAG Corporate Award
Black Retail Action Group
23rd Best Training Organization in the World (out of over 10,000 companies ranked)
Training Magazine
Stevie Award for “Best Training Website” Learning Lounge
American Business Association
Social Media — Internal Social Networks Watercooler
E2E Communication Awards
2009 Corporate Grassroots Innovation Award Geek Squad “Tech Tax” repeal
Public Affairs Council
Best Public Education Campaign: Out With the Rabbit Ears — The DTV Transition
Minnesota Public Relations Society of America
is Coming! And for Best Buy’s contact with the FCC
“ We are glad to see recognition for Best Buy’s efforts in the sustainability spaces.
This is an example of a company focusing their efforts on initiatives that are relevant
to their business and where they can, in fact, make a difference.”
Dr. Charles Fombrun, Founder and Chairman, Reputation Institute, Inc.
61
Best Buy is at the beginning of our journey to learn how to best measure our social and environmental
performance. We currently use a suite of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) metrics that we believe are
some of the most critical for our business and industry. However, we are still working to identify the
best possible key performance indicators specific to our business so that we can more accurately
measure the impact of our efforts. We anticipate the assessment we are currently conducting with
Business for Social Responsibility is a significant step in this direction.
We have added several new GRI key performance indicators to this year’s report. The new
GRI metrics for fiscal 2010 include:
Economic 2
Implications for the organization’s activities due to climate change
Labor 3
Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees
Social 5
Public policy positions and participation in public policy development and lobbying
Social 6
Total value of contributions and in-kind donations to political parties, politicians and related institutions
In addition, we continue to seek opportunities to include performance data from Best Buy operations
outside the U.S., including operations in Canada, China, Europe and Mexico. While we are making
progress in enterprise measurement, it represents one of our greatest opportunities as we strive to
meet one of our sustainability aspirations, “to be environmentally, social and financially accountable
for our brands and business operations worldwide.”
“to be environmentally, social and financially
accountable for our brands and business
operations worldwide.”
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Metric Profile
62
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
GRI Index
Disclosure/Indicator
PAG E
Strategy and Analysis
1.1
1
1.2
8–10
Organizational Profile
Disclosure/Indicator
PAGE
Management Approach and
Performance Indicators
Economic
EC1
6
EC2
47
2.1
front cover
EC4
63–64
2.2
6
EC8
34
2.3
6
2.4
back cover
Environmental
EN5
52
2.5
7
EN6
54
2.6
6
EN16
52
2.7
6
EN18
52
2.8
6–7
EN26
48–49
2.9
8
EN27
56
2.10
60
Report Parameters
Labor Practices and Decent Work
LA1
7
LA2
21
LA3
63
3.1
6
3.2
inside
front cover
3.3
front cover
LA10
25
3.4
inside
front cover
LA11
24–25
3.5
8–10
LA13
17
3.6
6–7
3.9
61
3.11
61
Human Rights
HR2
45
3.12
62
HR4
45
3.13
62
HR5
45
Governance, Commitments,
and Engagements
HR6
45
HR7
45
4.1
11
Society
4.2
11
SO5
63–64
4.3
11
SO6
63–64
4.4
11
4.6
11
Product Responsibility
4.8
3
PR1
48
4.9
11
PR5
28
4.13
12–13
4.14
13
4.15
12
4.16
12
4.17
8–10
For more information about the GRI, go to globalreporting.org
The fiscal 2010 Annual Sustainability report was reviewed by our
Internal Audit team for assurance.
63
As a leading global retailer and corporate
Customer Privacy Policy
citizen, Best Buy believes that it is important to
Best Buy’s Customer Information policy applies to the collection,
work with policymakers on issues impacting our access, use, storage, transfer, disclosure, retention and destruccustomers, employees, businesses, shareholders tion of Customer Information. bestbuy.com/site/Help-Topics/
Privacy-Policypcmcat204400050062.c?id=pcmcat204400050062&D
and communities. More information on Best
CMP=rdr0002305
Buy’s Public Policy Priorities, Political Activity
Policy, and 2009 Political Report can be found at
Ethics Policies
bby.com/advocacy/.
To ensure a positive and values-based work environment, Best
Climate & Energy Policy
Buy has policies that all employees must be aware of and follow.
Includes policies covering Conflict of Interest, Foreign Corrupt
Best Buy’s commitment to sustainability aligns with global
Practices Act and Ant-Corruption Compliance Policy, and Gifts,
interests in addressing climate change. Best Buy is an innovator
Business Courtesies and Vendor Relations. bestbuyethics.com
in offering our customers products and services that enable
them to live more sustainably. At the same time, Best Buy is
addressing our own carbon footprint resulting in a positive
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
impact on the economic, environmental and societal well-being
It is the policy of Best Buy and all of its subsidiaries and affiliates,
of the planet.
wherever they may be located, to comply fully with letter and
spirit of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and all other
In our own operations, Best Buy became a member of Climate
applicable anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws. Best Buy strictly
Leaders, set a goal to reach an 8 percent carbon footprint
prohibits all improper, unlawful or unethical payments to public
reduction by 2012 and achieved that goal in 2009. We are in the
officials anywhere in the world. No offer, promise or payment of
process of determining a new goal going forward. Our plans to
anything of value may be made, directly or indirectly, to or for the
reach this goal will include: improved store design, tightened
benefit of any foreign official that is or may appear to be related
operational controls, reduced plug loads, fuel reductions,
to obtaining, retaining or directing business or for any other
employee awareness and involvement, and renewable energy
improper advantage.
carbon offsets/renewable energy credits.
bestbuy.ethicspointvp.com/custom/bb_fcpa/forms/en/FCPA_
bby.com/cmn/files/Climate-Change-Policy-BBY-3.18.10.pdf
Policy010810_en.pdf
Conflict of Interest
Full-Time and Part-Time Rewards
A conflict of interest arises when we act in our individual
Outlines the benefits provided to full-time and part-time
personal interests instead of, or at the expense of, the interests
employees. bby.com/about
of the Company when engaged in the Company’s business
activities. Each employee is required to observe the highest
standards of business integrity. This means avoiding any activity
Gift of Time Policy
or interest that may be regarded as a possible conflict with the
Best Buy was created by ordinary people accomplishing extraor-
interests of Best Buy or engaging in activities that could create
the appearance of a conflict of interest.
bestbuy.ethicspointvp.com/custom/bb_coi/forms/en/Conflict_of_
Interest_Policy010610_en.pdf
dinary things. In support of this culture, we have a policy that
enables employees to donate their vacation time to another
employee in need of time off from work. bby.com/about
Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
Appendix
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Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
M-Rated Video Games
Social Media Policy
At the Company level, we are actively involved in working with the
Guidelines for functioning in an electronic world are the same
ESRB. Best Buy is a member of the ESRB Retail Council (ERC).
as the values, ethics and confidentiality policies employees
Best Buy stores will not sell or rent M (Mature) rated computer
are expected to live everyday, whether they are Twittering,
and video games to customers under the age of 17 without
talking with customers or chatting over the neighbor’s fence.
permission from a parent or guardian, and will not sell or rent
bby.com/about
AO (Adults Only) games to customers under the age of 18.
phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83192&p=IROL-FAQ#21
Standards for Recyclers
No Idle Policy
Best Buy promotes responsible environmental stewardship
No trucks are allowed to idle their engines while at a Best Buy
standards regarding the reuse, refurbishment or recycling of
retail location. No Idling signs are posted in plain sight outside of
products collected through our programs and the disposal of
the dock doors at each retail location. Within Best Buy’s “No Idle”
waste generated from the recycling process. bestbuy.com/site/
policy the term “idle” refers to running a truck’s engine during
null/null/pcmcat174700050010.c?id=pcmcat174700050010
by requiring all recyclers retained by Best Buy to comply with
the loading or unloading of a shipment. bby.com/about
Paper Procurement
Supplier Code of Conduct
These Supplier Compliance Standards are based upon Best Buy’s
This policy communicates our environmental goals throughout
expectation that its Suppliers, and their subcontractors, comply
the paper supply chain and states our expectations for responsible
with all applicable laws and regulations, maintain just and decent
forestry practices that promote sustainability and result in
working conditions, share Best Buy’s respect for the environment,
long-term social and financial benefits. bby.com/about
and implement sound security measures. extendingthereach.com/
wps/portal/US/BBY/MI1?catalog.contentURL =/nonsecure/na/us/
bby/merch/1portlet/vendor_standards_us_bby.htm
Tuition Assistance Program
Best Buy’s Tuition Assistance Policy is designed to build on
our goal of becoming a world-class learning organization.
bby.com/about
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Best Buy Fiscal 2010 Sustainability Report
we...
learn from challenge & change.
show respect, humility & integrity.
have fun while being the best.
unleash the power of our people.
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Richfield, Minnesota 55423-3645
Phone: (612) 291-1000
© 2010 Best Buy Co., Inc.