Wal-Mart to Rate Products’ Impact on Environment

[JonLP24]

Source: NY Times

Wal-Mart, which has been venturing into environmentally sustainable products and business methods for the last few years, is about to announce its most ambitious effort yet on that front. And it wants the nation’s other retailers to take part.

The company is expected on Thursday to announce the creation of an electronic indexing system meant eventually to help Wal-Mart and other retailers determine the social and environmental impact of every product they place on their shelves.

“I never thought I would be working with Wal-Mart a few years back,” said Jay S. Golden, a professor in the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. But, he said, “we are thrilled that Wal-Mart is taking a leadership role because they can move more companies toward this than any government can do.”

Wal-Mart’s enormity has long enabled it to create ripple effects throughout corporate America when it adopts new ways of doing business. Now it is spearheading the creation of a standardized electronic index that will determine how “sustainable” products are, based on their impact across the products’ life cycle. To make it happen, Wal-Mart is expected to ask its more than 100,000 suppliers to provide details about their supply chains. It will also team up with scholars, environmental and social groups, and other retailers.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/business/energy-environment/16walmart.html

[asthmaticeog]

1. I can't wait til 5 years from now

when we'll get to read the articles about how this turned out to be worse for the environment after all, but it made Wally World's stock go up three points or something.

[izquierdista]

2. Sustainable for whom?

China? I'm sure as long as Americans fill up their carts and waddle out with it, Chinese workers can shit in boxes and put them on a boat.

[icnorth]

3. The good housekeeping seal of approval. n/t

[Robb]

4. This will be expensive

...And will pay for itself if Wal-Mart can convince a small percentage of folks who have run from their horrible business model to come back into the stores and buy "green" products at inflated prices.

Let me be the first to say: fuck them.

[hugo_from_TN]

5. Kudos to Walmart.

A lot of warehouse and department stores will no doubt eventually follow this effort.

[drgonzosghost]

6. So will this also include the whale meat they sell in Japan?

http://www.businesspundit.com/walmart-sells-whale-meat-in-japan/

http://another-green-world.blogspot.com/2006/06/walmart-whale-killers.html

[Odin2005]

7. What's the catch?

[Robbien]

8. They are getting their suppliers to foot the cost of gathering the data

Each of their suppliers will have to foot the cost of develop systems to gather and monitor eco-usage of their products while Walmart gets the good press.

[Carl Skan]

9. And if they do it like they always have in the past...

...they'll require them to give them another discount on the price for it.

[Javaman]

10. more bullshit and bluster from green washing china mart...

part of the "green" movement that is never mentioned is the concept of local products and paying living wages.

china mart continues to violate these basic tenants. they also continue to deny overtime pay, full time shifts (which would result in health care benefits) and hiring undocumented workers.

they can green wash all they want, but at the end of the day their business practices are still bullshit.

They still destroy downtowns, they skill squeeze their suppliers to within an inch of their price margins so they have to cut employees to meet china marts demands, etc.

bullshit and mirrors.