Sustainability
January 5th, 2012
At long last, Walmart has entered the sustainable blogosphere with a new site called “The Green Room” (not to be confused with our own green room project with BBMG). Walmart’s new offering is a self described “platform for an ongoing conversation with NGOs, suppliers, the media, and others who want to share ideas and partner with us in helping people live better around the world.” It’s simple, clear and a good start. Whether it becomes a deep and productive conduit for progress on sustainability shall remain to be seen in 2012.
Read more at Triple Pundit
December 22nd, 2011
Progressive Grocer
Walmart has installed new energy-saving equipment on the rooftops of 14 stores in northern and central California.
Called DualCool, the units are retrofittable systems by Vacaville, Calif.-based Integrated Comfort Inc. that improve the efficiency of rooftop cooling units (RTU’s) in dry climates by using a direct evaporative process to pre-cool outdoor air entering the condenser coil, and an indirect process (no moisture added) to pre-cool ventilation air entering the building. On retail facilities in hot dry climates, DualCool typically reduces annual cooling energy use and peak electrical demand by 25 to 40 percent, according to the company.
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December 1st, 2011
On the energy efficiency front, Walmart is installing one of Louisiana’s largest solar projects. Cleco Power, a subsidiary of the energy services company Cleco Corporation, is Walmart’s partner in Louisiana. The initiative is one facet of Cleco’s Green Smart program, a clean energy research project to comply with a Louisiana statewide program to test the efficiency of fuels other than petroleum or natural gas. Plunking even a few solar panels on one rural store is a step in the right direction for both Walmart and Louisiana. Between its stores, warehouse clubs and distribution centers, Walmart has plenty of real estate on which it install solar panels and experiment with other forms of clean energy technologies and energy saving tactics like white and green roofs. Furthermore, there is opportunity to show that technologies like solar can benefit everyone and are not just the fancy of dreamers on both coasts.
Read more at TriplePundit
November 1st, 2011
Walmart will open its first store in the United States that utilizes all-LED lighting on the interior. The store, a Walmart Neighborhood Market, is located at 2111 N. Amidon, Wichita, Kan. The company said it expects to see a 40% savings on the energy-efficient lights, which also last at least six years beyond conventional lighting, reducing maintenance costs. “We are delighted to have all LED interior lighting in our newest Wichita store,” said market manager Michael Overton. “This is part of Walmart’s commitment to be a good steward of the environment, and we will be closely monitoring our savings in Wichita to gather more measurable data about the benefits of sustainability.”
Read more at Chain Store Age
September 7th, 2011
The Walmart store being built on 10th Avenue North could be the first of nine stores in Palm Beach County where inedible fruit, vegetables and baked goods will be recycled. Food waste will be stored in locked Dumpsters and picked up at least once a week through agreements the county and the village approved with Quest Recycling Services, the recycling contractor for Walmart. The pilot food waste recycling program is scheduled to begin as soon as Quest Recycling finalizes agreements with municipalities and garbage haulers. Robin Sweere, operations manager for the Frisco, Texas-based recycling company, said the program could begin at Walmart stores in suburban Lake Worth or Royal Palm Beach this year or at the Walmart on 10th Avenue North in Palm Springs, scheduled to open in January.
Read more at Palm Beach Post
August 17th, 2011
If you’re one of those people with an irrational but nonetheless bone-deep hatred of Wal-Mart, then don’t read this Top 10 list. Because it’ll only hyperstimulate that reflexive foaming at the mouth and dyspeptic rage that bubbles up inside of you whenever the company’s name is mentioned—and particularly when what’s being said about the employer of 2.1 million people is positive. For the rest of us, this list of Wal-Mart’s Top 10 Sustainability Initiatives provides some valuable and inspiring insights into how one of the world’s most influential corporations is marshalling its resources to combat hunger around the world, reduce waste, lower fuel consumption, train many thousands of students for careers in retail, and generally improve the quality of life in the communities in which Wal-Mart operates.
Read more at Forbes
August 16th, 2011
Walmart and CSR are not words normally associated together, which is why it makes such a fascinating study in what CSR really means and how one of the largest companies in the world can help create a more sustainable society. What Walmart teaches us is the role large multinationals play in the CSR conversation is inherently complex. Any large company will exhibit these contradictions. Low cost drives certain unsustainable practices, but the largest company in the world getting passionate about “green” is also having a large impact. Walmart is no simple story. What Walmart teaches us about CSR is this: Real change is possible, it is always imperfect and inconsistent; and if we want to change the world, we are going to have to talk to each other.
Read more at Reuters
August 3rd, 2011
This guest post was written by Elizabeth Fretheim, Walmart Logistics Director of Business Strategy & Sustainability.
High gas prices impact everyone, especially during high-travel summer months as families venture out on vacation. Americans across the country are feeling the pressure every time they visit the pump. Walmart is no different, and we see the effects in the way our customers shop, as well as behind the scenes in our own operations. That’s why, since 2005, our focus has been on taking trucks off the road by reducing the number of miles we drive and driving our miles as efficiently as possible. This is just one way we keep our operating costs low so we can pass our savings on to customers, while at the same time reducing our carbon footprint.
Read more at treehugger.com
May 25th, 2011
The idea of greener Wal-Mart would have been inconceivable a few years ago — laughable, even. Yet now the likes of Jeffrey Hollender, cofounder of the green home products company Seventh Generation, for years a vocal Wal-Mart critic, says, “Wal-Mart has become a legitimate sustainability leader… Wal-Mart’s enormous size and influence holds the potential to create the tipping point the corporate responsibility movement has been waiting for.” In short, the company once derided as the “bully of Bentonville” is serious about green, having concluded that the clean, green and least wasteful way of doing business is also the most profitable way of doing business. And what works for the world’s biggest company can work for anyone. So here are ten lessons from Wal-Mart’s journey to the green side, five that apply to anyone, five aimed specifically at businesses.
Read more at The Huffington Post
May 17th, 2011
Seven years ago, Wal-Mart began to undertake an unexpected transformation. The world’s largest retailer, so often criticized or sued for a variety of its labor and sourcing practices, partnered with some of its onetime critics — environmentalists — and embraced going green. Since then, the company has dramatically reduced its waste, cut down on packaging around the goods its sells, improved the fuel efficiency of its truck fleet and asked its suppliers to track and monitor their products’ carbon footprint.
Read more at Forbes: Shades of Green
