Hi Abbie,

Thanks for your question regarding Wal-Mart and its practices in sustainability.

Believe it or not, Wal-Mart is actually positioning itself to be the most sustainable company on the planet. Wal-Mart is not doing this because of a firm belief in global warming or a sense of doing what’s best for mankind and the planet. Wal-Mart is going green because a sustainable business model is the most cost effective business model.

Wal-Mart has three broad environmental goals according to their website:

1. To be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy;
2. To create zero waste;
3. To sell products that sustain people and the environment.

Wal-Mart is approaching these goals and sustainability from multiple angles. The company has been an Energy Star partner since 2001, which means it has strived to construct its facilities as efficient as possible in regards to energy usage and to sell products with the Energy Star label. They have goals to “Design and open a viable store prototype that is 25-30 percent more energy efficient and will produce up to 30 percent fewer GHG emissions by 2009 globally” and “Reduce greenhouse gases at our existing store, club and distribution center base around the world by 20 percent by 2012.” Wal-Mart is attempting to meet these goals through various experimental “High-Efficiency (HE)” stores around the country, testing out various new energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies that can be deployed globally if successful including daylighting, Cool Roofs, LED lighting as well as wind and solar energy.

I don’t believe Wal-Mart has attempted LEED certification on any of its facilities nor has it registered any for the Energy Star label. However, that doesn’t mean that its facilities and business model are not sustainable.

Wal-Mart has also incorporated sustainability into its fleet operations. They tout a 30 percent increase in fleet efficiency through the way they load trucks to the routes the trucks drive to from the distribution centers to the stores. Wal-Mart has also been using various types of alternative fuels in its vehicles including diesel-electric, compressed natural gas, and even a vehicle that runs on waste-grease from its stores.

Lastly and possibly most importantly is how Wal-Mart is including sustainable thinking in its supply chain and products. According to Greenbiz.com: Wal-Mart “has more than 100,000 suppliers worldwide. Their carbon footprint is many times larger than the company's operational footprint, and represents a more meaningful opportunity to reduce emissions.”

“At the end of the day, Wal-Mart said its suppliers as well as customers would both benefit from cost reductions through sustainability.



"Sustainability and lowering costs are totally aligned," said Lee Scott, Wal-Mart’s chairman of the executive committee, during a question-and-answer session at the Fortune Brainstorm Green 2010 conference on April 14, in Laguna Niguel, Calif., U.S.

"We are looking at sustainability from a business standpoint - not from a standpoint of altruism.”

In 2009 Wal-Mart introduced the “Sustainable Product Index,” which is a way to provide the environmental impact of a product to the customer in concise, easy to understand information. This will have a far reaching effect on the consumer industry simply because of Wal-Mart’s sheer size. Wal-Mart’s annual revenues are over $400 billion, making it the largest retailer in the world by far. Wal-Mart’s pursuits to incorporate sustainability across the board will no doubt change the way products are even made.

That said Wal-Mart still has its issues with the triple bottom line of people, planet and profits. There are still various problems to be addressed concerning employee healthcare, pay, time off, and other facets of employment at Wal-Mart. Until these concerns are addressed, Wal-Mart will not be a truly sustainable organization.

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