Retail Customers Appreciate Green Measures

ORANGE COUNTY, CA—Customers gravitate toward businesses with good sustainability practices, like malls that offer vehicle-charging stations, Ron Hanson, VP of operational efficiency for Simon Property Group. As GlobeSt.com reported last week, Simon and and NRG eVgo, a subsidiary of NRG Energy Inc., are installing electric-car fast-charging Freedom Station sites at four Orange County Simon shopping centers: the Shops at Mission Viejo, Brea Mall, Westminster Mall and the Outlets at Orange. The stations can recharge shoppers’ vehicles in 30 minutes or less, and they encourage customers to linger at least 30 minutes longer at the centers than customers without electric vehicles.

GlobeSt.com caught up with Hanson to discuss the importance of the Freedom Stations and what’s next in terms of service in retail centers.