Andy Ruben is an American business executive who is known as one of the first sustainability officers and the founder of the circular economy company Trove.

Walmart

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In 2004, Walmart CEO Lee Scott appointed Ruben as the company's first Sustainability Officer[1][2]. Over three years, Ruben integrated sustainability into the company's business,[3][4] pioneering sustainability initiatives across stores, energy conservation, and waste management, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in bottom-line efficiencies[5]. He engaged nearly every aspect of Walmart's operations, including more than one million associates and 60,000 suppliers, to drive sustainability goals[2][6].

Trove

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In 2012, Ruben co-founded Yerdle, a venture-capital-funded startup in the sharing economy or Collaborative Consumption. Yerdle was originally a peer-to-peer marketplace for used goods[7] and in 2016 pivoted to become a backend resale platform for brands, under the name Trove[8].

Trove launched the initial brand resale programs for Patagonia, REI, and Eileen Fisher in 2017[9][10][11]. Ruben stepped down as CEO in 2022[12] and remains Executive Chair.

References

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  1. ^ "The green machine - August 7, 2006". money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  2. ^ a b Wartzman, Rick (2022). Still broke: Walmart's remarkable transformation and the limits of socially conscious capitalism (First ed.). New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-5417-5799-8.
  3. ^ Goleman, Daniel (2010). Ecological intelligence: the hidden impacts of what we buy. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 978-0-385-52783-5.
  4. ^ Makower, Joel (16 November 2015). "Walmart sustainability at 10: The birth of a notion". Trellis/Greenbiz. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  5. ^ Spicer, Andrew (10 December 2012). "Walmart's Sustainability Journey: Andy Ruben and the Design of Organizaional Structures and Systems". Scolarworks@UARK.
  6. ^ "The Greening of Wal-Mart (SSIR)". ssir.org. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  7. ^ Staff, TIME (2015-01-29). "Baby, You Can Drive My Car, and Do My Errands, and Rent My Stuff…". TIME. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  8. ^ Albert-Deitch, Cameron (September 2021). "Nobody Agreed With This Founder's Plan. Here's How He Pivoted to Fast Growth Anyway". Inc. Magazine.
  9. ^ "Fashion resale gives brands sustainability and revenue boost. Consumers win, too. - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  10. ^ Mander, Brigid (5 January 2023). "The Wall Street Journal".
  11. ^ Robertson, Thomas S. (2023-11-01). "The Resale Revolution". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  12. ^ Zaczkiewicz, Arthur (2022-05-11). "Trove Promotes Gayle Tait to CEO; Andy Ruben Moves to Executive Chairman Role". WWD. Retrieved 2024-10-29.