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BENTONVILLE, Arkansas, US, November 2, 2005
(Refocus Weekly)
The world’s largest retailer will source 100% of
its energy from renewables.
“Our environmental goals at Wal-Mart are simple and
straightforward,” says chief executive officer Lee Scott. “One - to
be supplied 100% by renewable energy; two - to create zero waste;
three - to sell products that sustain our resources and
environment.”
“These goals are both ambitious and aspirational, and I’m not sure
how to achieve them, at least not yet,” he says in a speech to
employees. “This obviously will take some time, but we do know the
way.”
“We didn’t get where we are today by being like everyone else and
driving the middle of the road; we became Wal-Mart by being
different, radically different,” he explains. A year-long analysis
has produced a strategy for the company’s role in this century,
which was underscored by Hurricane Katrina and its impact on rural
Wal-Mart stores.
“People and the environment are being pushed to the limits,” and the
development of an environment program for the company sounded “more
like a public relations campaign than substance” in the early
stages, he admits. “Environmental loss threatens our health and the
health of the natural systems we depend on. The challenges include
increasing greenhouse gases that are contributing to climatic change
and weather-related disasters.”
There is a “crowd of smart people who think that if a company
addresses the environment, it will lose its shirt,” but Lee says
they are wrong, adding that “being a good steward of the environment
and in our communities, and being an efficient and profitable
business, are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are one in the
same.”
Wal-Mart should spend the next four decades making every aspect of
its business as productive as possible, which “will be good for the
environment, it will save us money, and in some cases, it will
actually add profits to our bottom line,” he explains. With one of
the largest private trucking fleets in the U.S., it could save US$52
million a year if it improved fleet fuel mileage by one mile per
gallon and Lee says it will double its fleet efficiency within ten
years to save $310 million a year.
“There is a technological revolution going on out there with respect
to buildings, heating, cooling, compressors, lighting, refrigeration
and more,” and the company will reduce energy consumption by 30%.
Its new store in McKinney, Texas, features solar PV panels and wind
turbines for electricity, and innovations for space heating and
passive solar cooling.
The science on climate change is “overwhelming” and the company will
reduce its GHG emissions 20% within seven years by “aggressively
investing” $500 million a year in technologies and innovations, and
launching a viable prototype that is 30% more efficient and produce
30% less GHG emissions within four years. It will also pursue
“regulatory and policy change that will create incentives for
utilities to invest in energy efficiency and low or no GHG sources
of electricity, and to reduce barriers to integrating these sources
into the power grid.”
“These commitments are a first step,” he adds. “To address climate
change, we need to cut emissions worldwide. We know that these
commitments won’t even maintain our fast growing company’s overall
emissions at current levels. There is more to do and we are
committed to doing our part.”
Wal-Mart was founded 43 years ago, and serves 100 million customers
every week. If it were a country, officials say it would be the 20th
largest in the world and, if it were a city, it would be the fifth
largest in the U.S.
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