Wal-Mart: mercenary and trailblazer

I can probably count the number of times I've been in a Wal-Mart on one hand. I'm not a fan of the behemoth store that runs small businesses out of town or doesn't provide health insurance for about half of its employees. But lately I've been hearing more about Wal-Mart using its tremendous influence to change manufacturing and quality control processes. Here are some examples:

Last autumn, Wal-Mart announced that they would judge manufacturers on their ability to reduce packaging. The implication is that those manufacturers who don't comply won't do business with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart estimates that the plan will annually save 323,000 tons of coal and 67 million gallons of diesel fuel from being burned. And it will keep keep about 677,000 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

A short time later, the store announced it would be working with manufacturers to substitute 20 toxic chemicals found in cleaning products with more environmentally-friendly alternatives. They hope to see these chemicals eliminated in the next two years.

Wal-Mart pledged to sell one million compact fluorescent light bulbs in 2007 and has forced manufacturers to cut the mercury content in the bulbs by one-third.

In response to recent toy recalls due to lead paint and other hazards, Wal-Mart announced it would require toy manufacturers to submit evidence of safety testing and would set up independent labs for additional testing. Of course, Wal-Mart is blamed for all of the corner-cutting by manufacturers since the store pushes for the lowest possible price.

And just this morning, the Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart has undertaken a multiyear campaign to update older stores with new lighting and air conditioning systems. In addition, it has started buying more locally-grown produce to cut back on fuel usage and emissions. Some stores are outfitted with waterless urinals, skylights and employ wind energy. They are on track to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent by 2012.

These things still won't make me a Wal-Mart customer or change my feelings about some of their business practices, but from an environmental standpoint, they are certainly taking more responsibility for themselves and their manufacturers.