U.S. Retailers Embrace ''Green'' Practices According to BDO Seidman, LLP Survey of CFOs

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to a new study by BDO Seidman, LLP, one of the nation’s leading accounting and consulting organizations, two-thirds of chief financial officers (CFOs) at leading U.S. retailers say their company is actively involved with “green” or environmentally friendly practices, and forty-four percent of those indicate they have increased their investments in these practices during the past two years. Among the top 100 largest retailers, eighty-three percent are involved in green practices and a majority of those (62%) have increased their green investments during the past two years.

“Retailers are focused on the importance of implementing environmentally friendly and energy efficient business strategies, commonly referred to as going green”

These findings are from the most recent edition of the BDO Seidman Retail Compass Survey which examined the opinions of 140 chief financial officers at leading retailers located throughout the country. The retailers in the study were among the largest in the country, with revenues of more than $100 million, including 23 percent of the top 100 based on annual sales revenue. The survey was conducted in August of 2007.

“Retailers are focused on the importance of implementing environmentally friendly and energy efficient business strategies, commonly referred to as going green,” said Catherine Fox-Simpson, a Partner in the Retail and Consumer Products Practice at BDO Seidman LLP. “These businesses reap a two-fold benefit from pursuing green practices – consumer appeal and substantial tax breaks.”

Other major findings of BDO Seidman Retail Compass Survey of CFOs:

Going Green, Inside & Out. Among those retailers involved with green practices, more than a third (34%) are pursuing internal activities (environmentally modifying operations and structures) exclusively; while nine percent are focused solely on external practices (selling green products). A majority (57%) of these retailers are pursuing a combination of both external and internal green practices.
Image is Everything. When asked to identify the greatest motivator for their company to pursue environmentally friendly practices, two-thirds of the CFOs cited the company’s corporate image (54% cited “image among consumers” and 13% cited “image among shareholders”). Tax breaks or tax incentives was the greatest “green” motivator among 15 percent of the CFOs, followed by 10 percent citing city/state or zoning regulations.

The BDO Seidman Retail Compass Survey is a national telephone survey conducted by Market Measurement, Inc., an independent market research consulting firm, whose executive interviewers spoke directly to chief financial officers, using a telephone survey conducted within a scientifically-developed, pure random sample of the nation's largest retailers (with revenues ranging from over $100 million to billions of dollars).

BDO Seidman, LLP has been a valued business advisor to retail and consumer products companies for almost 100 years. The firm works with a wide variety of retail clients, ranging from multinational Fortune 500 corporations to more entrepreneurial businesses, on a myriad of accounting, tax and other financial issues.

About BDO Seidman, LLP

BDO Seidman, LLP is a national professional services firm providing assurance, tax, financial advisory and consulting services to a wide range of publicly traded and privately held companies. Guided by core values including, competence, honesty and integrity, professionalism, dedication, responsibility and accountability for almost 100 years, BDO Seidman provides quality service and leadership through the active involvement of its most experienced and committed professionals.

BDO Seidman serves clients through 35 offices and more than 300 independent alliance firm locations nationwide. As a Member Firm of BDO International, BDO Seidman, LLP serves multi-national clients by leveraging a global network of resources comprised of 621 Member Firm offices in 107 countries. BDO International is a worldwide network of public accounting firms, called BDO Member Firms, serving international clients. Each BDO Member Firm is an independent legal entity in its own country.