At Wal-Mart, ‘Green’ Has Various Shades

The Washington Post reports on Wal-Mart’s newly released report on the progress of its green initiatives, which despite some partnerships with environmental groups, has mixed results in terms of sustainability success.

The report shows that Wal-Mart’s carbon emissions output grew in 2006 by nine percent, and the company has yet to develop a system to reduce its solid waste output by 25 percent prior to October 2008.

The company has developed sustainable value networks for its employees, which connect them with suppliers and advocacy groups to work on issues such as consumer electronics, jewelry and packaging.

An interesting example cited showing the power of Wal-Mart’s large reach is that the store switched to carrying Charmin 6 Mega Roll packs, which has the same amount of toilet paper as a regular 24 pack but takes up much less space when shipped. The results are that Wal-Mart can ship 42 percent more units, eliminate 89.5 million cardboard rolls and 360,087 pounds of plastic wrapping.

Wal-Mart self-imposed goals of zero waste and renewable energy in a speech by chief executive H. Lee Scott Jr. two years ago, but did not specify a timeline for these initiatives. For more on green business, visit Earth 911’s Business site.