WAL-MART WANTS TO LEAD ON ENERGY, CLIMATE CHANGE

In conjunction with this story, Wal-Mart unveiled the first of 22 California and Hawaii stores’ rooftop solar energy installations in Santa Ana, California. The company intends to generate 30% of each store’s electricity from solar energy. Impressive. The supplier is BP Solar.

Question corporate motives all you want, greenwashing and all, they’re still doing the right thing. The S&P 500 companies were surveyed about emissions reduction efforts. 282 responded. 81% said climate change represents “more commercial risks than opportunities.” Only 29 percent have reduction targets or timelines.

Bill Clinton, at launch of CDP: “Almost everyone of the commitments in the climate change area are actually good business that I believe will actually make a profit for the people making the commitment. Does that make it a bad thing? No, that makes it a good thing. Think how many fewer problems society would have if all social problems could be solved with a profitable solution…”

Wal-Mart Aims to Enlist Suppliers in Green Mission
Ylan Q. Mui, September 25, 2007 (Washington Post)

WHO
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer; the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)

Help by cutting emissions, cutting waste and asking business partners to do the same. Yes, that is helping. Call it what you will.

WHAT
Wal-Mart will ask its suppliers to measure and offset emissions. CDP will monitor and guide.

WHEN
Wal-Mart pledged 2 years ago to vowed to cut waste, use renewable energy and sell sustainable products.

Greenwashing is not on the list. (click to enlarge)

WHERE
A pilot program evaluating emissions has begun involving 25-30 suppliers. Coca-Cola and Fox Home Entertainment are signed on to the project.

WHY
- The Carbon Disclosure Project has recruited 315 institutional investors controlling assets of $41 trillion and is endorsed by Rupert Murdoch, Bill Clinton and Angela Merkel.
- Wal-Mart will begin with 7 major item categories: DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, vacuum cleaners and soda. The levarage of size Wal-Mart has used in the past against unions and competitors will now be exerted to move suppliers (60,000 companies over hundreds of industries) to be more environmentally responsible.
- Wal-Mart has a packaging scorecard rating 3,400 suppliers on 13,000 products, pushing back against waste. It will soon involve customers in the scorecard evaluation and may use something similar for emissions.

Action speaks louder than platitudes.

QUOTES
- John Fleming, chief merchandising officer, Wal-Mart: "Some of them are things we rarely think about -- like our vacuum cleaners -- and some of them are things we'd rather think about, like beer and movies…But each of these products has an impact on our planet."
- Michael Marx, executive director, Corporate Ethics International: "They make it possible for these suppliers to succeed with a large carbon footprint if the retailers continue to sell their products…"
- Paul Dickinson, CEO, CDP: "Proper carbon accounting and reporting is becoming the accepted minimum…This proves the point that what gets measured gets managed.”