The Future of Green Retail

Now that top retailers like Wal-Mart and Starbucks embrace green practices, “green retail” is more than just a Google trending topic. In September, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) held its annual environmental sustainability conference in San Diego, where executives shared best practices in establishing environmental programs and integrating green practices into their companies. But as companies continue to go green, they must also think about how they can make green services more available to their customers.

Green retail has indeed come a long way. Back in 2005, when Wal-Mart announced its new environmental standards, critics were skeptical. Was Wal-Mart going green or just greenwashing? While the company surely realized going green meant some positive press, the environmental benefit of many of their new initiatives was legitimate. A Fast Company article in January 2010 covered 11 ways Wal-Mart was changing retail, including deploying more fuel-efficient trucks and implementing innovative recycling policies, such as sandwich bales. A closer look at Wal-Mart practices also reveals a focus on internal sustainability, i.e. how the companies themselves act sustainably. This is more or less what “green retail” has signified until now: which company has the most fuel efficient fleets or solar panels on its stores?

However, green retail is in the midst of a radical shift, redefining how retailers participate in the green economy. Retailers can now pursue internal sustainability initiatives AND bring green practices and services to the consumer. Clean energy is now for sale in aisle 4.

For example, retailers can offer clean power services in stores to change the way green energy is delivered. Solar power, traditionally complicated and expensive for homeowners, can be accessible, easy, and even mainstream in popular stores. In fact, solar power service is now available through select Home Depot stores in Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. With this service, homeowners can switch to solar power for little or no cost, and simply pay monthly for the solar electricity. This can save customers up to 15 percent on their utility bills.

Are green retailers just what we need to help make solar mainstream? They are certainly an important part of the equation. In 2009, SunRun surveyed 2500 mainstream homeowners and found that while most people begin their solar research online, over a third of them wanted to make their final purchase of solar power at a retail store.

One of the major barriers to mainstream solar is lack of awareness. Most people already know solar power is available and understand the basic environmental and financial benefits. What they don’t realize is that solar can be easy and affordable. By selling affordable green power service, retailers can take advantage of high-volume foot traffic and a direct connection to consumers to educate the public and deliver clean energy in a new and exciting way. There are fewer than 100,000 solar homes in the United States and 126 million total housing units nationwide. By selling clean power where people shop every day, retailers can make a remarkable impact on the environment and the clean energy economy.

Green retail no longer means only adopting environmental practices within the company. Now it’s about helping others adopt environmental practices to grow the green movement, not to mention saving consumers money.  Courtesy of Environmental Leader



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Daimler, Walmart Team Up on Hybrid Truck

Daimler Trucks North America announced Monday that it has partnered with Walmart to build a hybrid electric truck, the first fruit of a new, long-term partnership between the two companies to develop green technologies.

The diesel-equipped truck features a parallel hybrid system based on an electric second axle. The system uses advanced battery storage technology.

Walmart is a long-time customer of Portland-based Daimler Trucks North America and will act as an engineering partner to the company going forward.

"Walmart is partnering with our suppliers like Daimler Trucks North America to develop technologies that will improve the efficiency and lessen the impact of our operations. These partnerships help to prove out these technologies and speed up the time to market," said Chris Sultemeier, senior vice president of transportation for Walmart, in a press release.  Courtesy of Sustainable Business Oregon


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Wal-Mart to boost buying from small and local farms

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is planning to double the sales of fresh produce from local farms in its United States stores by the end of 2015, part of a strategy to revamp its global produce supply chain.

The world's largest retailer said it would also sell more than $1 billion each year in food from one million small and medium-sized farms in emerging markets by the end of 2015. That would help increase income for those farmers 10 percent to 15 percent in the same time frame, Wal-Mart said.

In the United States, Wal-Mart said its plans for supporting local agriculture would lift local produce to 9 percent of total produce sales in the country. Wal-Mart does not give a dollar figure for total produce sales.

Wal-Mart also said it will require that palm oil from sustainable sources be used in all of its private-label products by the end of 2015. The company sells hundreds of products that use palm oil. Environmentalists argue some producers add to global warming by felling forests.

Using locally sourced agriculture and supporting small farms is one way to preserve local jobs and prevent dwindling farmland from being lost, according to environmentalists and other groups. It can also help reduce the use of resources such as fuel to transport food over long distances.

Wal-Mart joins a growing list of corporate and charitable organizations lending support to sustainable agriculture programs and small and local farmers.

Backers of such programs include the United States Agency for International Development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a host of corporations, including DuPont and Archer Daniels Midland.

The focus comes as the United Nations warns that the global population is estimated to jump roughly 50 percent to 9.2 billion by 2050, which will require broad public and private initiatives to boost agricultural productivity and nutrition without use of additional environmental resources.

"Wal-Mart, they are a very big outfit. If they require their suppliers to meet sustainability requirements, that will have significant implications," said Bill Lesher, executive director of the Global Harvest Initiative consortium of corporations focused on increasing agricultural production.

"It will benefit large farmers, small farmers, it will be helpful to everyone," Mr. Lesher said.

Wal-Mart has sought to reduce the environmental harm posed by its business by pushing suppliers to cut package sizes and encouraging consumers to buy energy-efficient light bulbs. It has also cut down on fossil fuels in its supply chain.

The moves have helped Wal-Mart improve an image tarnished by accusations of unfair treatment of employees and the threat its stores pose to small local retail businesses.

As part of the plan announced on Thursday, Wal-Mart said it will spend more than $1 billion on improvements in its global fresh supply chain to move fresh food to stores more quickly.

Wal-Mart aims to reduce food waste in emerging market stores by 15 percent and in stores in other markets 10 percent by 2015.

The company is also looking to help protect the Amazon rainforest by only buying beef from producers that do not contribute to deforestation, Wal-Mart said.

The Brazilian government, at the prompting of conservationists, has cracked down in recent years on slaughterhouses that buy cattle raised on illegally deforested pasture in the Amazon. The industry has been slowly moving toward ear-tag chips to expand traceability to most of the country's roughly 200 million head of cattle.

The plans were announced by Wal-Mart chief executive Mike Duke at the company's sustainability milestone meeting.  Courtesy of ECOSEED


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Clinton Global Initiative: Partnership Targets 20% Fleet Emissions Reduction, Wal-Mart Joins Clean By Design

Donlen, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and GreenDriver are partnering on a  multi-year Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action to cut commercial fleet emissions 20 percent in five years. By working together, the organizations expect to reduce fuel expenditures, petroleum consumption, and global climate change emissions.

Under the commitment pledge, “Commercial Fleet 20% GHG Emissions Reduction,” Donlen, a North American fleet leasing and management company, will work with clients and other companies to baseline fleet emissions and create actionable emissions reduction plans to increase fuel efficiency, reduce miles traveled, use low-carbon fuels, and deploy technologically advanced vehicles.

EDF’s role will be to validate Donlen’s data collection process, reduction strategies, and methodology. Donlen will also use GreenDriver online training and behavior management programs to help commercial and government fleets reduce their CO2 emissions and fuel costs by focusing on the greatest variable in a vehicle’s fuel efficiency: the driver.

Donlen, EDF, and GreenDriver are asking their clients, large commercial fleets, and other fleet management companies, suppliers, and vendors to join in their effort. With nearly three million vehicles in U.S. corporate fleets, the organizations estimate that industry-wide participation could eliminate more than 10 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

“The transportation industry is responsible for 28 percent of the overall greenhouse gas emissions in the United States,” said Gary Rappeport, Donlen CEO. “As a leader in the fleet management industry, it’s important that Donlen takes the initiative to help reduce commercial fleet GHG on a broader scale. The Clinton Global Initiative offers us the perfect venue to address this critically important issue, and we’re proud to collaborate with EDF to be part of the larger work of CGI.”

In addition to the fleet emissions commitment, the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative kicked off yesterday in New York with a series of pledges to help millions of people in Haiti, Pakistan and the U.S. Gulf Coast, including a $1-billion commitment from Google, reports Financial Times.

Proctor & Gamble’s chief executive also pledged to save one life every hour by donating 2 billion water purification packets every year to developing countries, extending the company’s children’s safe drinking water program.

“In the previous decade, insurance payments [for natural disasters] were three times what they had been in any previous decade, warning that the number of disasters will accelerate with the changing of the climate,” said Bill Clinton, the former U.S. president, reports Financial Times.

A key theme of the panel discussion, moderated by Clinton, was collaboration between corporations, governments and non-profits, reports Financial Times. Panelists included Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, Bob McDonald, chief executive of Procter & Gamble, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation and Finnish president Tarja Halonen.

Other pledges include eBay founder’s Pierre Omidyar’s $55 million to promote government transparency globally and mobile technology in developing countries, reports San Jose Mercury News, and NRG Energy’s pledge of $1 million to install solar power for water pumps, schools and street lighting in Boucan Carre, Haiti, according to Bloomberg

Clinton said the global initiative will total more than $63 billion in pledges by the end of this session, reports Bloomberg.

Wal-Mart and H&M, two of the world’s largest clothing retailers, together with Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), have committed to working with their Chinese textile suppliers to reduce water, energy, and chemical use in their supply chains. Wal-Mart announced its work with NRDC’s Clean by Design project at the Clinton Global Initiative. H&M made its announcement in September.

NRDC says if 100 small- to medium-sized textile mills implement the organization’s recommended improvements, China would save more than 16 million metric tons of water annually, enough to provide 12.4 million people drinking water for a year. These practices can also eliminate nearly 1 million metric tons of CO2 annually.
Also announced at the global initiative meeting, New York City, Click here for full story




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Going Greener: Wal-Mart Plan New Solar Power Initiative

The parking lot at the Sam's Club in Palmdale, California looks like others in Wal-Mart Stores' empire, except for one thing. Seventeen wind turbines spin atop the parking lot lights, producing up to 5% of the store's energy.

The turbines, installed in March, represent the largest retail installation of its type in the U.S. and a major test of the technology, Wal-Mart says.

In a nearby city, Lancaster, a Walmart gets 50% of its energy from a potentially revolutionary fuel-cell technology.



And Monday, Wal-Mart is expected to announce plans to almost double the number of locations to have solar, with a next-generation solar technology planned for many of them.


In 2005, Wal-Mart set the goal of being 100% reliant on renewable energy. It didn't give a time frame and hasn't said how far it's come. But given Wal-Mart's 8,400 locations worldwide, it's barely made a dent in the goal. Nonetheless, the world's biggest retailer is running real-world tests on green-energy technologies. Because of its heft, it could quickly deploy winning technologies and propel them into the mass market while proving to other companies that the economics work, renewable-energy experts say.

"If these technologies can pass the Wal-Mart hurdle, other people will say, 'We ought to look into it. It's not just a novelty,' " says Gwen Ruta, vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Wal-Mart — one of the USA's largest private users of electricity — isn't pursuing renewables just for good PR. It'll turn to green energy, but only if it costs the same as or less than traditional power. So far, more than 90% of Wal-Mart's renewable projects have met that bar, says David Ozment, Wal-Mart's director of energy.

Since 2008, Wal-Mart's solar facilities, now numbering 31 in California and Hawaii, have even cut the retailer's energy costs by $1 million, Ozment says. That's small change for a company with annual revenue of $405 billion. But it's noteworthy because solar is still, on a national basis, more expensive than traditional energy, such as coal.

Some environmental groups have criticized Wal-Mart for not being more green. Advocacy group Wal-Mart Watch also says that Wal-Mart's green efforts divert attention away from the pollution created by the distance that many shoppers drive to get to its stores, which are often on the edges of cities. But other retail and green analysts say Wal-Mart is pursuing renewables with as much pace as possible, given the economics.

"They're trying to figure out how to apply their low-price model to solar, which isn't low-price," says Joel Makower, executive editor of GreenBiz.com. "This is hard stuff."

A big push to go green

Wal-Mart's work on renewables has happened in conjunction with its other major steps to go green. Five years ago, Wal-Mart pledged to eventually send no waste to landfills because everything is re-used, and to sell only products that sustain people and the environment. The company has since opened prototype stores that are 25% more energy-efficient, thanks to such steps as using more skylights and lights that automatically dim. Its U.S. truck fleet has become 60% more efficient, in part because of better route planning. By 2013, Wal-Mart wants its 100,000 suppliers to reduce packaging by 5%.

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Motivation for Manufacturer's to Go Green

 Motivation for manufacturers to become more energy efficient took a huge step forward recently with announcements by major corporations like Wal-Mart and General Motors that they will require their suppliers to reduce their carbon footprints.

 According  to Jack Healy, director of operations at the Massachusetts Manufacturing Partnership, the impact of these announcements, like Wal-Mart's February decision to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its global supply chain by 20 million metric tons by 2015, is likely to be seismic in the manufacturing world.

For the first time, businesses are regulating the environment, he said, and their action is likely to have a much more game-changing impact than anything state or federal regulations have achieved, especially for smaller companies.

"Now you have large companies like Wal-Mart, IBM, GE and GM, they're all going back down through their supply chain and they're making demands on (companies) to change," said Healy. "I think you're going to see a very significant change. They are much more capable of affecting change than regulators."

While many large manufacturers have already begun exploring the benefits of increased energy efficiency, especially if they have consumer products that can be branded as sustainable, smaller companies don't always have the necessary time, available capital or similar financial incentives, to do the same.

Now pressure from major corporations means many must begin taking steps in order to keep their businesses alive.

"Smaller companies have always resisted all this stuff, but now if they want to remain in the supply chain, they're going to have to conform," said Healy.

According to Healy, a good number of Massachusetts companies have the potential to be affected with about 69 percent of the state's 7,000 manufacturers falling in the 20-or-fewer employee category.

Part of a national network, MassMEP works with manufacturers to create more efficient manufacturing processes. More recently, it has teamed up with the Environmental Protection Agency to see how Lean manufacturing techniques can be applied to produce more sustainable manufacturing operations.

While these new pressures are getting close attention from manufacturers, Healy said, many are confused about where to place their efforts. In a May 27 blog post on the subject, Healy cited a recent Aberdeen Group survey which shows sustainability has become one of the top five market pressures facing today's manufacturing operations.

But, he noted, the survey suggests manufacturers are still struggling with just where sustainability efforts should be focused — on building facilities, products, manufacturing operations or all of the above.     Click here for full story






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Walmart Green Forklifts

Air Liquide said it was recently awarded a contract to supply the hydrogen, filling station and infrastructure to power Walmart‘s new fleet of green lift trucks at the company’s new distribution centre located in Alberta, Canada. The fuel cell forklift trucks are the fastest growing segment of the hydrogen energy market.


In addition to producing no greenhouse gases, these vehicles also offer a productivity gain of 2% compared to battery powered forklift trucks. In Canada, where numerous publicly-funded research and development programs on hydrogen energy have been launched in recent years, commercial applications are coming to light.

This fleet is the largest deployment of fuel cell lift trucks in Canada and the first commercial contract in hydrogen energy in the country. It is also the first fleet of its kind supplied by the Air Liquide group.

Air Liquide Canada will design a dedicated solution for material handling. It will integrate compact indoor hydrogen dispensers located throughout Walmart Canada’s distribution center. Those dispensers will be able to supply a total of over 100 kg per day and fill vehicles in less than 2 minutes. This fast filling generates a significant productivity gain compared to battery swap operations for conventional electric forklifts. Air Liquide will also supply the hydrogen, which in Canada is produced using 98% renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity.

Over forty-five Air Liquide hydrogen stations have been installed throughout the world to date. Other publicly-funded programs in Canada include the Vancouver and Montreal-Trudeau airports demonstration project, and the Whistler station, which keeps BC Transit’s fleet of 20 hydrogen buses on the road. In Korea, two new hydrogen filling stations dedicated to cars have just been commissioned.

François Darchis, Senior Vice-President, Air Liquide Group, and a member of the Executive Committee, said, “We are very pleased to provide the hydrogen and filling infrastructure for this first fleet in Canada. It is another step towards the global market Air Liquide has been anticipating. We are proud to accompany the development of this technological innovation that will help to preserve the environment. Both Energy and the Environment are growth drivers of the Air Liquide Group."

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Wal-Mart Green, We Will Be Seeing Alot More of This

Mayor Scott Lang was among three mayors honored at the 78th Annual Conference of Mayors held in Oklahoma City for their leadership in green jobs training.

Lang's distinction means that People Acting in Community Endeavors' "Youth Build Green Energy Solutions" program will receive $300,000 through the Wal-Mart Foundation from the conference. The conference chose nonprofit groups in the cities of the mayors honored to receive grants. The grants are intended to support and expand green jobs training.

PACE's program will provide residential and commercial energy efficiency training. The program trains local contractors, experienced construction workers and inexperienced residents interested in entering the green technology sector.

"Energy, climate protection and green jobs have been top priorities in our work with mayors, Congress and the administration, specifically our efforts to enact a new energy block grant program and the Green Jobs Act," Tom Cochran, chief executive officer and executive director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said through a statement.

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Philly Gears Up for the Green Economy via Wal-Mart

The U.S. Conference of Mayors awarded Philadelphia a $500,000 from the Wal-Mart Foundation on Friday for its Philly Gears Up for the Green Economy program.

The pilot program is a collaborative partnership between the city, the Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) and the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, to create a pipeline for high school students, dislocated and incumbent workers to enter the green work force. Training will be provided through five-pilot programs at ECA’s James L. Knight Green Jobs Training Center.

The five pilot programs are:
1. A pre-apprenticeship for weatherization technicians for 20 high school seniors.
2. A pre-apprenticeship for foam insulation technicians for 25 BASF incumbent workers.
3. An apprenticeship program for foam insulation technicians for 25 BASF incumbent workers.
4. White Roof coating training for 25 WAP (Weatherization Assistance Program) incumbent workers.
5. Energy audit training for 50 energy auditors.

School District of Philadelphia high school students who enter the program upon graduation are eligible to receive credits toward earning an Associates’ Degrees at the Community College of Philadelphia and may be eligible for 50 percent tuition reimbursement by employers.

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Wal-Mart Goes Green: The World's First Quintuple Play

Watching baseball's first quadruple play was strange. Seeing Wal-Mart (WMT) go green is stranger still. First the baseball: The scene was a game of T-Ball, where everyone bats every inning, regardless of the number of outs. The bases were loaded when a line drive ended up in the glove of the pitcher. While he wondered how it got there, all the runners took off without tagging up. The pitcher ran to third, then second, then first. We kept counting the number of outs and they did not add up. First in our heads: That doesn't make sense. Then on our hand: That's crazy. Then our other hand: It kept adding up to four outs. It took us a while to believe what we saw right in front of us.

And now Wal-Mart, the original Black Hat, is going green. Or better said, sustainable. Let that sink in because it is true. Big time.  So much so that Treehugger.com says it "could end up being one of the biggest motivators to make truly 'green' products ever."
As in history of the world. Wal-Mart has made believers out of not just the biggest environmental organizations in the world -- like the Environmental Defense Fund and the World Wildlife Federation -- but also Wal-Mart's suppliers.
It started five years ago when Wal-Mart announced three goals:
1) 100 percent renewable energy;
2) Zero waste;
3) Sustainable products.

Wal-Mart stores have already gone sustainable on dozens of fronts from shipping to selling to storing to recycling. Last year, Wal-Mart saved 4.8 billion plastic shopping bags.

That's how they roll in Bentonville: Big.    Click here to read what Wal-Mart told it's 100,000 vendors



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