To understand the positive environmental impacts Wal-Mart can make, it’s important to first understand Wal-Mart’s massive scale. We all know Wal-Mart is “big”, but here are some Wal-Mart numbers to help put things into perspective.
- Over 4,100 stores in the US and another 3,125 internationally for a total of over 7,200 stores globally
- Saw nearly $350 billion in revenue for the last fiscal year and over $100 billion in this past 4th quarter
- Visited by over 100 million shoppers each week (that’s only counting America)
- Employs over 1.9 million people
- Accounts for 8 percent of retail sales in the U.S. (excluding automobiles)
As we can see, anything Wal-Mart does is simply huge. One thing Wal-Mart has done well is experiment with energy saving techniques such as solar power, wind power, new HVAC technologies, waterless urinals, and new lighting technologies. In 2005, Wal-Mart opened two experimental supercenter stores in McKinney, Texas and Aurora, Colorado. These stores employ the latest technologies and use 20% less energy than the standard baseline superstore. They are platforms for a lot of the technology rolled out to their other stores. In January 2008, Wal-Mart opened a second high-efficiency store, which employs state-of-the-art technologies to use 25% less energy than standard stores. They employ technology such as water reclamation, waterless urinals, and intelligent lighting sensitive to time of day and store traffic. As some of this technology is rolled out to their other stores, efficiencies and energy savings will really add up quickly.
Wal-Mart is employing solar technology in 22 of its Hawaii and California stores. These stores generate 30 percent of the power needed to operate a store, or over 20 million Kilowatt hours of energy per year. This helps reduce greenhouse gases 6,500 – 10,000 metric tons per year.
In 2006, Wal-Mart installed high efficiency auxiliary power units on all trucks that make overnight trips, allowing drivers to turn off their truck engines during breaks. The annual impact is estimated to be 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and a savings of 10 million gallons of diesel fuel. Also, the company estimates it will save $25 million per year. In addition, Wal-Mart is working to convert its entire fleet of trucks to hybrid diesel technology by 2010 and to double the fuel efficiency of its fleet within 10 years.
By May of this year, Wal-Mart plans to only sell concentrated liquid laundry detergent in all its U.S. stores and Sam’s Clubs. Although this may sound like a small change, reduced packaging and water needs will save an estimated 400 million gallons of water, 125 million pounds of cardboard, and 95 million pounds of plastic resin. There are also huge transportation reductions and savings.
On October 3, 2007, Wal-Mart sold its 100th million compact florescent light bulbs. Each CFL saves $30 in utility costs, uses 70 percent less energy than a traditional light bulb, and prevents 450 pounds of greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere. Multiply these benefits by 100 million, and you can see the impact add up quickly.
Wal-Mart also started selling reusable plastic bags for $1 in its stores. If Wal-Mart sells its projected 2 million bags, Wal-Mart will have avoided producing 100 million disposable plastic bags. This is equivalent to 1,185,000 pounds of plastic resin.
Again, the cynic in me says that Wal-Mart is likely taking these actions to increase their bottom line or to create some good press. However, whether or not we are personal fans of Wal-Mart, the fact is Wal-Mart is taking action, and they are making a huge, noticeable difference. In the next and final article, we’ll discuss how Wal-Mart is working with suppliers to increase efficiencies beyond its own stores.
