Wal-Mart to fund Arkansas sustainability center

BENTONVILLE, Ark. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced that it has donated $1.5 million to the University of Arkansas Applied Sustainability Center to fund projects related to advanced research on greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture, and environmental education. The gift is the latest in a series of contributions from the Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club Foundation to fund educational initiatives, including donations to local schools and universities, student scholarships, education programs and Wal-Mart’s annual Teacher of the Year program.

“Our gift to the University of Arkansas is a part of Wal-Mart’s Sustainability 360 approach to addressing the environmental challenges of the 21st Century,” said Doug McMillon, evp of  Wal-Mart, and president and ceo of Sam’s Club. “We understand the need to take sustainability beyond reducing our direct environmental footprint to engage not only associates, suppliers and communities, but also students, staff and faculty members from the University of Arkansas and believe that together we can leave a better environment for future generations.”

The center, which is an interdisciplinary initiative of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, will focus on conducting two innovative projects. The first project will be collaboration with leading experts in carbon reduction to research methods for reducing embodied fossil fuels in products. For the second project, the center will partner with the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers College of Food, Agriculture and Life Sciences to hold working sessions with specialists to identify and discuss sustainability issues in the agriculture industry.