Wal-Mart to green up supply chain

Wal-Mart has unveiled plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 million metric tons across its network of suppliers and stores by 2015.  The move is part of the retailing giantÔÇÖs ongoing strategy to make its business more environmentally friendly. Wal-Mart said the reductions would offset the anticipated growth in its carbon footprint over the next five years and said it was equivalent to taking 3.8 million cars off the road for one year. The cuts will be made throughout Wal-MartÔÇÖs supply chain, including manufacturing, transportation and its own stores. The company said that the effort will cut energy use, which in turn will mean lower costs for Wal-Mart and lower prices for the consumer. Wal-Mart, which is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, said it would initially focus on several hundred suppliers and products with the highest carbon footprints, such as milk, meat bread and clothing. Measures will include reducing emissions from transportation as well as waste for fresh foods, and could also extend to developing new clothing materials that would require less energy to clean and which would accelerate the drying process. The company has also announced changes to DVD packaging that will use less plastic and make it lighter. The company has made it clear that any costs related to making products more energy-efficientÔÇöfor example, redesigning packagingÔÇöwill be the responsibility of each supplier, not of Wal-Mart. Responding to concerns that many suppliers will not be able to afford the investments needed to reach Wal-MartÔÇÖs required standards, the company said it wants to pursue projects that are economically viable and which would reduce costs, not raise them. Wal-Mart has already started enforcing stricter environmental standards from its Chinese suppliers by examining factories' emissions, their management of toxic substances and how they dispose of hazardous waste. The move is part of a wider strategy that Wal-Mart has outlined to one day use only renewable energy and create zero waste. It has already increased its use of solar power and announced plans to roll out an index that will measure the environmental impact of the products it sells. The US has the world's second-highest levels of carbon dioxide emissions after China, with emissions predicted to rise yet further this year and next as the economy recovers. Wal-Mart posted sales of more than $400 billion last year.