Wal-Mart reaffirms sustainability commitment
Rogers, Ark. Wal-Mart yesterday established new sustainability goals and revealed plans for a significant merchandising initiative in 2008 during the during the company’s first ever Live Better Sustainability Summit.
The agenda for the all day event included a trade show with 68 sustainability related exhibitors and a two-hour presentation where Wal-Mart’s top executives reaffirmed the company’s commitment to sustainability and sought to provide direction on the issues to an audience of an estimated 500 top executives from supplier companies.
In doing so, Wal-Mart’s top two merchandising executives, John Fleming, chief merchandising officer for the retailer's U.S. stores division and Greg Spragg, evp for Sam’s Club, told attendees it was important to establish goals and revealed that in 2008 the company expects 20% of the products found in Wal-Mart and 100% of the items in Sam’s Club to be viewed through the sustainability lens. To accomplish that goal, the company will create a Live Better Innovations Index accessible to suppliers via the company’s Retail Link information sharing system where progress on sustainability efforts can be tracked by Wal-Mart merchants and buyers in keeping with the company’s strategy of incorporating sustainability into the broad set of performance metrics on which it evaluates suppliers.
In addition, Fleming and Spragg detailed plans to launch a marketing promotion around the subject of sustainability and presented suppliers with the opportunity to bring products to market that offer game-changing innovation and would be suitable for inclusion in the promotion.
According to Fleming, the company is looking for 100 items with the sales potential and positive environmental impact of the compact fluorescent light bulb to be part of a marketing initiative planned for April.
“We will develop that platform but we what we need is products,” Fleming said. “We need 100 different CFL initiatives to drive great sales.”
One thing heard repeatedly during the two hour presentation to supplier executives was that sustainability is not a fad or a marketing ploy on the part of the company. Wal-Mart is looking to integrate sustainability into all its thought processes, from how it operates stores to the products it sells. In fact, it is the latter point where the company contends the greatest opportunity lies.
According to Fleming, through operational issues such as store lighting and fleet management Wal-Mart is able to impact only about 8% of its environmental footprint. The remaining 92% of Wal-Mart’s impact is related to the products it sells.
“That where you all come in,” Fleming told the suppliers audience. “The real opportunity is we need to get focused on products that are innovative and sustainable.”
Fleming, Spragg and Wal-Mart president and ceo Lee Scott also told suppliers they will be recognized and rewarded for their commitment to sustainability. And, if they don’t find a receptive ear with their buyer or another senior merchant their door is open to have conversation around sustainability.
“Sustainability is here to stay. It is not a fad. It is not a marketing ploy, Scott said. “It is a part of what all of us are going to be doing with our business from here on out.”