Thursday, September 17, 2009

Wal-Mart and its Cradle to Cradle ambitions

In the next 5 years, Wal-Mart plans to give each of its retail products a sustainability rating. The retailer mogul promised to create a universal, industry-wide sustainable product directory.

«The ambitious plan, unveiled by chief executive Mike Duke to 1,500 suppliers in July, aims to establish a sustainability rating system for each item on Wal-Mart's shelves. This will help shoppers understand the social and environmental impact of products. It should also drive innovation among suppliers.»

How will Wal-Mart accomplish this goal?

By asking its worldwide suppliers to answer a short survey to see what sustainability policies, procedures and targets they have in place.

Once they receive the results, they will ask a consortium of universities to create a sustainability index. In conjonction with suppliers, retailers, NGOs and government the group will build up a global database of information on the lifecycle of products – from cradle to cradle. This folder will then be used to create the index.

Once the index is finalized, Wal-Mart will create a simple and easy to understand sustainability rating for each product in its store, so consumers can make wiser and greener decisions while shopping.

Source: Ethical Corporation