Things That Make You Go Green

As we saw in the previous article, Wal-Mart has taken a lot of action to reduce its environmental footprint. Recently, Wal-Mart has been taking steps to reduce the environmental impact through its entire supply chain and not just within its own walls. For once, I think this is something we can all applaud – namely, Wal-Mart using its massive scale and influence to push others in a positive direction. You can be certain that when Wal-Mart wants something, most suppliers will listen as Wal-Mart is often the largest distributor and sales channel for these companies.

Perhaps a lofty goal, Wal-Mart hopes there will be no dumpsters at its stores and no landfills with Wal-Mart garbage. While it may take a while to get there, Wal-Mart has set some solid goals. Wal-Mart wants to cut packaging waste by 25 percent in three years and reduce overall packaging by 5 percent by 2013. Achieving this alone will save over 650,000 metrics tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to taking nearly 250,000 trucks off the road. By 2025, Wal-Mart has set a goal to become packaging neutral. Of course, only by working with suppliers can Wal-Mart achieve these goals.

Most recently, Wal-Mart has asked certain suppliers to measure the amount of energy they use when manufacturing products. Wal-Mart has started with DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, vacuum cleaners, and soda. Although Wal-Mart has not been specific as to why it wants this information, the speculation is that Wal-Mart may use this as a factor when selecting which suppliers to purchase from. If they start pushing all their suppliers to reduce energy waste, the potential savings can be enormous.

Wal-Mart worked with suppliers to eliminate plastic wrapping from individual rolls of paper towels or toilet paper by selling them as multiple unit packages. Wal-Mart also worked with a toy supplier to reduce packaging on 16 items. Through this initiative, Wal-Mart saved about 356 barrels of oil and 1,300 trees by using 230 fewer shipping containers. By expanding this program to 255 items, Wal-Mart expects to save over 1,000 barrels of oil and 3,800 trees (not to mention associated transportation costs) this year.

Finally, one last initiative I will discuss is related to seafood. I’m sure we’ve all heard about over-fishing in our waters and the disappearance of seafood some time in the next 50 years. In 2006, Wal-Mart announced a plan to purchase all of its wild fish from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified fisheries by 2010. The MSC label on seafood packages lets consumers know that sustainable practices were used to harvest the fish. In addition, Wal-Mart is also working with the Aquaculture Certification Council and Global Aquaculture Alliance to certify all shrimp suppliers are following Best Aquaculture Practices.

When doing research for this article, I was surprised at the sheer number of initiatives Wal-Mart has and plans to undertake. It was simply astonishing. In fact, Wal-Mart talks about sustainability all over its investor reports, websites, and even has web properties devoted to the discussion of sustainability. walmartstores.com is one example of this. I’m sure a lot of this is done to get positive press. Who can blame Wal-Mart for wanting some after all the years of negative press they’ve received. In fact, I support those who applaud Wal-Mart’s efforts. Will this change my shopping behaviors? Probably not immediately given the disastrous state of the Wal-Marts in my area. However, more retailers and businesses should follow Wal-Mart’s steps and implement policies and programs to reduce their environmental footprints. Only by taking active steps will we be able to invoke change and inspire others to action.