Wal-Mart : Sustainability being sought, achieved on many fronts
Posted on Tuesday, May 30, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/35448/
BENTONVILLE — In a visionary speech, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott recently talked about challenges of environmental loss and how to replace it with sustainability — the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future. "Environmental loss threatens our health and the health of the natural systems we depend on. The challenges include: Increasing greenhouse gases that are contributing to climatic change and weather- related disasters; increasing air pollution which is leading to more asthma and other respiratory diseases in our communities; water pollution which is increasing while safe fresh water supplies are shrinking, water-borne diseases cause millions of death each year, mostly among children; destruction of critical habitat, causing unprecedented threat to the diversity of life, the natural world and us.
" And that’s just to name a few. As one of the largest companies in the world, with an expanding global presence, environmental problems are our problems. The supply of natural products (fish, food, water) can only be sustained if the ecosystems that provide them are sustained and protected, "he said.
Wal-Mart has been working toward the sort of sustainability Scott envisioned with many and varied initiatives, including a program named Acres for America; with strides involving organic cotton; with increased fleet efficiency; with improved packaging; and with experimental stores in McKinney, Texas, and Aurora, Colo. Acres for America
On April 12, 2005, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Wal-Mart announced one of the largest ever public-private partnerships: A groundbreaking land-conservation program called" Acres for America. "
The Acres for America initiative is to conserve critical wildlife habitats for future generations. Wal-Mart committed $35 million for 10 years to conserve at least an acre of priority wildlife habitat for every acre developed for company use over the next 10 years.
The minimum total acres to be protected is set at 138,000. Lands conserved will benefit a wide variety of wildlife, including large and small mammals, freshwater and saltwater fish, migratory and neo-tropical birds and native plants, Max Chapman Jr., foundation chairman, said.
" Wal-Mart is the first corporation to commit to offsetting its entire developed land use for conservation. We introduced the concept of the offset program to Wal-Mart ... They were quick to say yes, and Wal-Mart’s leadership is raising the bar in conservation, "he said. Organic cotton
As consumer demand for organic products grows, Wal-Mart is expanding its organic baby product lineup and has other expansion plans.
The company will offer eight outfits for boys and seven outfits for girls, beginning in May or June 2006. And new collections are expected to arrive every two months or so. Beginning with a few orders in a limited number of stores, Wal-Mart is now the largest single purchaser of 100 percent organic cotton products in the world, said the Organic Exchange, a nonprofit organization committed to expanding organic agriculture.
An organic cotton yoga outfit was introduced in 290 Sam’s Clubs this year, and customers snapped up virtually all of them — 190,000 units — in just 10 weeks. Then, the project was expanded to include select bath, bed and baby products.
Next summer, a line of affordable organic clothing for babies will be available, and expansion into other business units and merchandise areas is also planned. Fleet energy reductions
The company is a significant user of energy and is conscious of doing its part to use it wisely, Tara Stewart, a senior manager in public affairs, said.
Wal-Mart has plans to double new truck fuel efficiency, from 6.5 to 13 miles per gallon by 2015, and is already forging new partnerships to innovate and improve trucking performance. The partnerships have resulted in a new truck designed with forward-thinking aerodynamics, transmission, tires, a high-efficiency auxiliary power unit, and emissions controls, said Stewart.
" We continue to learn from and work with a variety of companies that have large fleets — like Fed Ex or the Defense Department.... We are working with a pilot program and a test truck and... things are going very well. We are excited to take this truck to a second generation this year and continue to learn, " she said.
The corporate fleet includes more than 100 hybrid vehicles in operation and will include another 100 for 2007. These combined innovations will keep 26 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air between now and 2020, Stewart said. Those and other changes will provide net savings of at least $494 million a year by 2020, and more in later years, she said. Packaging
While the company is moving on many fronts to improve packaging, a recent highlight was changing to corn-based, biodegradable polylactic acid packaging in fresh produce, and other changes are under way, Stewart said.
Replacing current packaging for only four items — cut fruit, herbs, strawberries, and Brussels sprouts — could translate to around 100 million containers a year and save the equivalent of 800,000 gallons of gasoline while preventing 11 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from polluting our environment, Stewart said.