Headlines are calling it The Great Grocery Smackdown. I'm just going to call it: the greatest green news I've heard in a while. Walmart is working pretty darn hard to do the right thing by local farmers as well as consumers.
Corby Kummer wrote a great piece for The Atlantic about the company's efforts to purchase and sell locally produced foods - which leads to a rather unexpected price and quality comparison to industry leader Whole Foods. Read the full article here.
To borrow a few words from the Environmental Defense Fund coordinator who is currently in charge of working with Walmart on agriculture programs, “It’s getting harder and harder to hate Walmart.”
Showing posts with label Wal-mart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wal-mart. Show all posts
Friday, March 26, 2010
Friday, July 17, 2009
Green Ratings
Yesterday, Wal-Mart unveiled their new environmental labeling program requiring suppliers to calculate and disclose the full environmental cost of their products. The ratings will be displayed alongside prices. Hopefully these green ratings will become another point for shoppers to consider while comparing items, forcing suppliers to reassess their production. The New York Times reports:
The idea is to create a universal rating system that scores products based on how environmentally and socially sustainable they are over the course of their lives. Consider it the green equivalent to nutrition labels.
Rather than a retailer or a product supplier’s focusing on only a few sustainability goals — lower emissions or water conservation or waste reduction — the index would help them take a broader view of sustainability by scrutinizing and rating all sorts of environmental and social implications.
Did this T-shirt come from a cotton crop that was sprayed with pesticide? Was excessive packaging used to ship these diapers?
Wal-Mart’s goal is to have other retailers eventually adopt the indexing system, which will be created over the next five years.
I suppose I owe Wal-Mart a "tip o' the hat," huh? Is there such a thing as "sustainable consumption" with a retailer of this magnitude?
Click here for Wal-Mart's press release or here for the web cast from their Sustainability Milestone Meeting.
The idea is to create a universal rating system that scores products based on how environmentally and socially sustainable they are over the course of their lives. Consider it the green equivalent to nutrition labels.
Rather than a retailer or a product supplier’s focusing on only a few sustainability goals — lower emissions or water conservation or waste reduction — the index would help them take a broader view of sustainability by scrutinizing and rating all sorts of environmental and social implications.
Did this T-shirt come from a cotton crop that was sprayed with pesticide? Was excessive packaging used to ship these diapers?
Wal-Mart’s goal is to have other retailers eventually adopt the indexing system, which will be created over the next five years.
I suppose I owe Wal-Mart a "tip o' the hat," huh? Is there such a thing as "sustainable consumption" with a retailer of this magnitude?
Click here for Wal-Mart's press release or here for the web cast from their Sustainability Milestone Meeting.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Does this mean I am officially an adult?
After sending this someecard to a childhood partner-in-crime, I got to thinking, ignorance really is bliss. I mean, it is totally damaging and detrimental to our poor planet, but in a small way I envy those who can go through a drive-thru without a hint of feedlot remorse, or get everything they feel they need from Wal-Mart at a super-low cost, with an unnatural shelf life, and without that guilty "ugh I am supporting this corporation" pang I feel after taking advantage of their inexpensive bulk packs of toilet paper. At least I am no longer sneaking out and hurling it over trees.For more awesome ecards like this one visit http://www.someecards.com/
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Can you have your cheap cake and eat it too?
The NY Times has been covering Walmart's recent announcement at the company's first "sustainability summit" requiring that the manufacturers supplying goods for their stores "adhere to stricter ethical and environmental standards" come January. From NY Times' Stephanie Rosenbloom:
The changes signal a move on the part of Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, away from intermittent transactions with many suppliers toward longer-term arrangements with a smaller group of manufacturers. Wal-Mart is betting that using its buying power this way can help keep prices low even as it keeps a closer eye on its suppliers.
To ensure suppliers are making changes, Wal-Mart said it would require three levels of audits: from the vendors themselves, from an outside party and from Wal-Mart, which will initiate more of its own random, unannounced audits.
Wal-Mart said the audits would assess factory working conditions as well as compliance by manufacturers with standards regarding air pollution, wastewater discharge, management of toxic substances and disposal of hazardous waste.
Read the entire article here or read further through the DotEarth blog here.
The changes signal a move on the part of Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, away from intermittent transactions with many suppliers toward longer-term arrangements with a smaller group of manufacturers. Wal-Mart is betting that using its buying power this way can help keep prices low even as it keeps a closer eye on its suppliers.
To ensure suppliers are making changes, Wal-Mart said it would require three levels of audits: from the vendors themselves, from an outside party and from Wal-Mart, which will initiate more of its own random, unannounced audits.
Wal-Mart said the audits would assess factory working conditions as well as compliance by manufacturers with standards regarding air pollution, wastewater discharge, management of toxic substances and disposal of hazardous waste.
Read the entire article here or read further through the DotEarth blog here.
Friday, September 26, 2008
reduce, re-use, recycle
Just found this on Reuters:
WAL-MART AIMS TO CURB PLASTIC BAG USE
"Wal-Mart Stores Inc will give out fewer plastic shopping bags, and encourage shoppers to reuse and recycle them, as the retailer aims to slash its plastic bag waste by a third worldwide by 2013. The plan is expected to cut the equivalent of 9 billion plastic bags from stores each year, and eliminate more than 135 million pounds of plastic waste globally in the next five years. The world's largest retailer said on Thursday it aims to reduce plastic bag waste by 25 percent in its U.S. stores and 50 percent in other countries. "If we can encourage consumers to change their behavior, just one bag at a time, we believe real progress can be made toward our goal of creating zero waste," said Matt Kistler, senior vice president for sustainability at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's U.S. stores will begin selling a new 50-cent reusable bag in October, and its baggers will be trained to pack bags more efficiently. Earlier this month, its Mexico stores introduced reusable bags that cost one-third less than the previous ones." Read full article here.
A few weeks back I posted about some retail giants installing solar panels - so I am happy to hear about this news as well, although some critics are saying that this is a rather small effort. I absolutely believe that any action is better than inaction.
WAL-MART AIMS TO CURB PLASTIC BAG USE
"Wal-Mart Stores Inc will give out fewer plastic shopping bags, and encourage shoppers to reuse and recycle them, as the retailer aims to slash its plastic bag waste by a third worldwide by 2013. The plan is expected to cut the equivalent of 9 billion plastic bags from stores each year, and eliminate more than 135 million pounds of plastic waste globally in the next five years. The world's largest retailer said on Thursday it aims to reduce plastic bag waste by 25 percent in its U.S. stores and 50 percent in other countries. "If we can encourage consumers to change their behavior, just one bag at a time, we believe real progress can be made toward our goal of creating zero waste," said Matt Kistler, senior vice president for sustainability at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's U.S. stores will begin selling a new 50-cent reusable bag in October, and its baggers will be trained to pack bags more efficiently. Earlier this month, its Mexico stores introduced reusable bags that cost one-third less than the previous ones." Read full article here.
A few weeks back I posted about some retail giants installing solar panels - so I am happy to hear about this news as well, although some critics are saying that this is a rather small effort. I absolutely believe that any action is better than inaction.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Solar stores
The Sunday NY Times published a great article about big retail chains installing solar panels on the roofs of their stores. Whether it's to help bring energy costs down or for the tax break, let's hope this renewable energy trend continues to grow momentum.
Right now, Kohl's has solar panels on 43 stores and plans to add them to an additional 85 in the coming months. Macy's currently has 18 installed and 40 on the way. Wal-Mart is tesing the technology in 17 stores. Safeway and Whole Foods are also supporting these energy-saving initiatives.
From Stephanie Rosenbloom for NY Times:
"If Wal-Mart eventually covered the roofs of all its Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart locations with solar panels, figures from the company show that the resulting solar acreage would roughly equal the size of Manhattan, an island of 23 square miles."
Check it out here
Read the entire article here
Right now, Kohl's has solar panels on 43 stores and plans to add them to an additional 85 in the coming months. Macy's currently has 18 installed and 40 on the way. Wal-Mart is tesing the technology in 17 stores. Safeway and Whole Foods are also supporting these energy-saving initiatives.
From Stephanie Rosenbloom for NY Times:
"If Wal-Mart eventually covered the roofs of all its Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart locations with solar panels, figures from the company show that the resulting solar acreage would roughly equal the size of Manhattan, an island of 23 square miles."
Check it out here
Read the entire article here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)