Sephora, San Francisco

Sephora has been implementing eco-friendly choices in its stores for years, including specifying FSC-certified wood flooring and changing out fluorescent lightbulbs with LEDs for floor and wall display fixtures. This summer, the beauty and skincare retailer gave a facelift to the image of green retail with the opening of its first store to apply for LEED certification.

The new San Francisco location, at Stonestown Galleria, looks like a typical Sephora with its signature black-and-white look. Yet, according to Wendy Hawkins, Sephora’s store planning and design manager, the store uses 15 percent less energy; houses Energy Star-compliant equipment and appliances; and has high-efficiency plumbing fixtures that reduced the retailer’s water usage by more than 40 percent. The retailer also recycled all materials from the fixture install, including the protective packaging used during shipping.

While Sephora awaits certification (it’s aiming for gold or platinum level), Hawkins says the company is planning additional LEED-designed locations in the future.