Walmart strengthens sustainable goals with new initiatives

• Nearly 95 percent of direct-import factories have received one of the two highest audit ratings for environmental and sourcing practices.
• 195 factories have improved their energy efficiency by 20 percent as of July 2012, and the top 200 factories are expected to improve their energy efficiency by 20 percent or more by the end of 2012.

“We will drive progress faster and scale our work to make factories more socially and environmentally sustainable, reduce energy and water usage, and eliminate harmful emissions into rivers and the air.  We will also have deeper insight into how we can make manufacturing more sustainable for people and communities in China,” Duke continued. 

Integrating the Sustainability Index into Walmart’s Supply Chain

Walmart set a goal in 2009 to develop a Sustainability Index to improve sustainability across the consumer goods industry. The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) developed a reporting system and measurement tools for Walmart, and other members of The Consortium, to evaluate products and determine supplier sustainability performance.

Walmart has rolled out the Sustainability Index, which measures product sustainability using metrics developed by TSC, to more than 100 categories. Merchandise buyers from Walmart U.S., Sam’s Club, Walmart.com and Walmart Canada are now using the Sustainability Index in regular buying decisions.

More than 500 suppliers have participated in the Sustainability Index, representing an average of 70 percent of sales within the categories Walmart is currently evaluating with the Sustainability Index. Walmart expects to expand the use of the Index to an additional 100 product categories by the end of 2012.

How the Index Works

For example, Walmart’s computer buyer used the Sustainability Index and The Sustainability Consortium’s (TSC) research tools to identify opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save energy from laptops. Only 30 percent of laptops sold at Walmart were using “advanced power management” – a feature that switches the computer to a lower power state when it’s idle or used at a reduced energy capacity. 

The industry had a standard for activating “sleep” mode when a computer’s system is in 30 minutes of inactivity. Walmart’s computer buyer asked suppliers, when possible, to shorten the time to 10 minutes of inactivity. Walmart now has a goal for 100 percent of the computers it sells this holiday season to have advanced power management as the default setting. This change will eliminate more than 200,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and save customers money on electricity bills.

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