WAL-MART ATTEMPTING TO GO GREEN? IS THAT TRUE? (da "globeandmail.com", Nov 15 - 2007)

Se qualcuno di voi ha visto il film "The Corporation" (http://www.thecorporation.com) sapra' allora di cosa si tratta Wal-Mart. Per chi invece non ne fosse al corrente, beh, vi basta sapere che, non perche' sia americana, ma la Wal-Mart e' la piu' grossa (e probabilmente una tra le peggiori), corporation.
Eccomi quindi qui a riportare con grande stupore una notizia che mi ha lasciato sorpreso e con un grosso interrogativo: marketing? volgia di pulirsi la coscienza? voglia di cambiare?


Onestamente non ne ho la piu' pallida idea, ma resta il fatto che almeno una grossa realta' come la Wal-Mart, tenti di fare qualcosa per cambiare l'impatto ambientale. Ed in tutta sincerita', a questo punto visto come e' sviluppato il mercato, non mi interessa se e' per interesse o per pulirsi la coscienza per il passato. Il risultato e' che si cerca di fare un minimo sforzo per portare beneficio alla societa' e l'ambiente circostante.

___________________________________________________________



Report on green solutions: “Retail: walking the walk”.

SCRUBBING FROM THE TOP DOWN

Wal-Mart is engineering wholesale eco-change by putting pressure on detergent makers and other suppliers to clean up their acts, Dianne Rinehart writes

by Dianne Rinehart



Less is more.
At least when it comes to liquid laundry detergent, and the impact a small change in a big product category can have on the world's environment.
When Wal-Mart announced recently it would carry only two-times-concentrated (or higher) liquid laundry detergent by May, 2008, it set off a reaction that amounts to one giant leap for the environment among manufacturers, packagers and shippers, experts say.
That's because concentrated detergent requires less water in manufacturing, less plastic for containers, and less cardboard packaging.
It also requires less shipping and storage space and fewer delivery trips. That means reduced greenhouse gas emissions during manufacturing, shipping, and storage - and less garbage and recycling, as well.
In short, the detergent initiative, combined with other eco-moves Wal-Mart has under way, has pressured manufacturers and suppliers to reduce their environmental footprints or lose access to shelves at the retailer, which is the world's largest, with revenue of $351-billion, 1.9 million employees and 6,500 stores in 13 countries.
"For the environment, this is probably one of the best things that could have happened in terms of having an impact of a substantial magnitude," says Ashwin Joshi, marketing professor and director of the MBA program at York University's Schulich School of Business in Toronto.
"Wal-Mart's move is quite significant," agrees Tima Bansal, director of the Centre for Building Sustainable Value at the University of Western Ontario, because it affects 60,000 suppliers from around the world, including those in Third World countries such as China. "When Wal-Mart ... says, 'you have to do that,' that's going to change the actions of suppliers in emerging economies, too."
That's an effect no Western government or environmental group has been able to achieve, and it will likely affect environmental practices from the manufacturing of toys to the growing and processing of foods, experts say.
Wal-Mart's directive influences not only what suppliers make for its shelves but what they market to the world. By April, 2008, Procter and Gamble will have dropped non-concentrated liquid detergents from all Canadian stores, says Lee Bansil, director of external relations for consumer products giant Procter and Gamble Canada.
Part of Wal-Mart's initiative is to promote the consumer acceptance of eco-friendly products. After all, its marketing muscle made Procter and Gamble's Tide HE concentrated laundry detergent - which reduced bottle size by half and packaging by 43 per cent - the top selling liquid detergent at Wal-Mart Canada stores.
"Support from Wal-Mart and promotion at Wal-Mart is a very big carrot for suppliers [to go green]," says Kevin Groh, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada.
When the company decided to push energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs, it simply changed how shelves were stocked, giving priority placement to fluorescents, which boosted sales enormously, he says.
"When they decide something is important, they go after it in the most systematic, rigorous way known to mankind," Dr. Joshi says of Wal-Mart's actions.
"If they decide they want to move in a particular direction, I would bet on this transforming a number of sectors."
Dawn Bazely, director of York University's Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability, agrees: "The clout they have is like IKEA's in terms of their ability to tell their suppliers [what they want] ... You're talking about tipping the way business is being done."
Wal-Mart's actions will encourage consumers to compare environmental footprints on every product they purchase, predicts McMaster University marketing professor Ashish Pujari.
"The customer will be looking not just at the entire impact of one company's green policies, but at each individual product," he says.
In fact, when Wal-Mart decided to go green, it found that 92 per cent of its environmental impact was because of the products it sells, with its operations responsible for only 8 per cent, says Mr. Groh. Hence its edicts to suppliers.
Although the reduction in pollutants and garbage worldwide from Wal-Mart's moves hasn't been quantified yet, here are some numbers that give pause:
Savings for Tide HE detergent, which contains 35 per cent less water, total 1,637 tonnes of plastic and 2,272 tonnes of packing materials a year in Canada. Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 22,000 tonnes annually in Canada, and 215,000 tonnes throughout North America.
Unilever Canada estimates that its brand of three-times-concentrated laundry detergent, Sunlight Multi-Action, saves 2,201,000 litres of water, 896,000 square feet of cardboard, 120,000 litres of diesel fuel, and 78,400 kilograms of plastic annually in Canada.
Wal-Mart Canada estimates that environmental savings for its 20 per cent of the retail market will amount to 94.6-million litres of water, 2.2 million kilograms of plastic and 3 million kg of cardboard.
Laundry detergent is just one aspect of Wal-Mart's green plan. Since 2005, when the retailer launched its three sustainability goals - to produce zero waste, to be powered by 100-per-cent renewable energy and to make eco-friendly products available - it has made progress on all fronts.
The company is looking at every aspect of its business, including store lighting, recycling policies among suppliers and vehicle idling.
"We do know that 25,000 fewer garbage trucks will visit Wal-Mart this year as a result of waste reduction. There's not one aspect of our business we're not looking at through a more sustainable lens," says Mr. Groh.
The company's goals aren't just altruistic, he adds. "As a responsible company, we're looking at lowering the environmental impact. As a retailer, we're looking for processes and products that make sense for our business."
In fact, experts say that Wal-Mart is succeeding where consumers and governments have not, despite all their green talk. The company is the biggest purchaser of green power - solar, wind and hydro - in Canada, something equivalent to taking 3,875 cars off the road for a year.
"This is going to be a million times bigger than customer activism ever was," says Dr. Joshi.
It is Wal-Mart's size - previously perceived as a negative - that is enabling it to succeed. Consider what's involved in changing just one product: liquid laundry detergent. Suppliers must not only retool manufacturing but reformulate products and reassure consumers they are getting the same number of loads from a small bottle as from a big one.
"There's a lot at stake," notes Mr. Bansil. "It's like playing with the crown jewels."
So will consumers see lower prices, reflecting reduced packaging and shipping costs? "Savings?" responds Mr. Bansil. "This is an investment for us. We've done a lot of consumer research and reformulating and changing our production lines."
And the R&D work doesn't stop there. Next up is concentrated fabric softeners, as Unilever and Procter and Gamble look at another product sure to come under Wal-Mart's microscope.
While the greening of Wal-Mart is a challenge for manufacturers, it's a huge headache for Canada's estimated $6-billion packaging industry.
"The biggest challenge is understanding the complexity of what sustainable packaging is all about," says Jim Downham, president and chief executive officer of the Packaging Association of Canada.
Not only must packagers create new bottles and boxes for customers, but those boxes - to score green points with Wal-Mart - must hold the most number of units possible and make best use of shipping pallets to require the least number of trucks and ships.
They must also utilize eco-friendly materials and manufacturing practices, reduce energy consumption and use renewable energy.
"We're miles from [achieving] it," Mr. Downham acknowledges. The packaging industry is scurrying to meet customer demands, he says, "but requires education and information resources to achieve more sustainable packaging solutions."
In the end, Wal-Mart's U.S. headquarters says reducing packaging by 5 per cent by the year 2013 will save 667,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, equal to taking 213,000 trucks off the road annually and preventing 323,800 tonnes of coal and 66.7 million gallons of diesel fuel from being burned.
"It makes me feel great," Mr. Downham says of such predictions. Now all he has to do is figure out how to do it.
If packagers need ideas, they need only ask Barry Friesen, director of waste management services for Ontario's Niagara Region.
He suggests they start with powdered detergent boxes that combine recyclable cardboard with non-recyclable plastic handles. They are a nightmare for waste managers, he says. "The liquid detergent bottle on the other hand, is 100-per-cent recyclable, so reducing [size] is helping us."
Consumers should realize they're not paying just for the product and its packaging also but the costs of garbage pickup, recycling and landfill services.
"Canadians have been looking for industry to step up to the plate," says Mr. Friesen, who sits on Procter and Gamble's expert advisory panel on sustainability on his own time "to impress the Proctor and Gamble and Wal-Marts of the world the importance municipalities and residents place on lowering our environmental footprint."
Ken Ogilvie, executive director of the Toronto-based environmental group Pollution Probe, is also a member of the Procter and Gamble committee. He says that while concentrated detergent is just one piece of the puzzle, every step is important in reducing energy use and easing greenhouse gas emissions.
"Look at the thought process that went into creating compact detergents and apply that elsewhere," he advises manufacturers.
In the end, Dr. Joshi says that Wal-Mart may have run into bad publicity in the past for its labour practices and elimination of competitors, but "you have to hand it to them - and hand it to them big time," for its moves on the environment.


Concentrated savings

2.2 million: Litres of water saved annually in Canada through the manufacture and sale of concentrated laundry detergent Sunlight Multi-Action.
78,400: Kilograms of plastic saved in manufacture of Sunlight a year.
22,000: Tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions saved annually in Canada through manufacture and sale of Procter and Gamble concentrated detergents.
896,000: Square feet of cardboard saved in packaging for Sunlight a year.