For more than 100 years, Americans have relied on JCPenney for clothing and home goods, all at reasonable prices. The department store's founder, James Cash Penney, once said, "Let all of us who are in business keep the well-being of our country in mind." So it shouldn't be surprising that the nationwide retailer has been hard at work making its stores as energy-efficient as possible.

"We realized that consumers increasingly are looking to make their purchasing decisions based on how companies operate," says JCPenney spokesman Tim Lyons. That has meant spending about $75 million over the past five years on such projects as high-efficiency lighting, more efficient heating and cooling systems, and energy-management technology. This fall, four JCPenney stores in Washington state became the first to get Energy Star's new certification for energy-efficient retail buildings. Energy Star determined that the stores use 35 percent less energy than the average retailer. Overall, JCPenney's 1,064 outlets will cut their annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 3 million pounds.

Although JCPenney customers probably won't be able to discern the energy-efficient measures when they walk into the stores, they will notice more and more green items for sale. Already, the stores offer women's sleepwear made from soybean protein, socks made from bamboo, and organic cotton baby bedding. The company is also testing reusable shopping bags in five cities. Given that half of the U.S. population walks into a JCPenney store every year, each green step for the store is a green step for shoppers of all kinds.

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