Wal-Mart Goes Green

The nation’s largest retailer this week decided to extend its environmental sustainability supply chain initiatives to electronics, asking all of its electronics suppliers to fill out a materials scorecard starting in 2008. 

The scorecard will be similar to what Wal-Mart uses for packaging sustainability now and will evaluate electronics on energy efficiency, durability, upgradability, end-of-life solutions and the size of the package containing the product. Products will also be evaluated on their ability to use materials that reduce the amount of hazardous substances that go into landfills, such as lead and cadmium. According to Wal-Mart, the end result is a score that shows suppliers where improvements can be made and allows the retailer to evaluate the environmental sustainability of the product. Wal-Mart will also provide the scorecard information to consumers, so, in turn this move could have an impact on buying decisions.

Interesting …

Typically I would say that when Wal-Mart says jump, suppliers should say how high — but not this time. Wal-Mart has a poor track record when it comes to enforcing procedures on its suppliers. Remember when it ordered companies to include RFID in packaging? There was no follow through. If Wal-Mart had been successful, RFID would be much further along than it is now. If I were a supplier looking at this scorecard, I wouldn’t immediately jump to action.

But if Wal-Mart plays its cards right and uses its massive retail strength to get some political pull, this move could encourage a national standard that would call for better environmental practices in the electronics supply chain. Some call this idea “U.S. RoHS,” and believe it would be much simpler to implement a national law than laws state by state, as is happening now.

Broadening its position would also get Wal-Mart some good PR, something the lawsuit-ridden, allegedly discriminatory company could use. In general, “going green” is a hot trend right now and Wal-Mart’s attempts to align itself with that charge can’t hurt. Plus, it’s an obvious bonus for the environment when any major company makes a green move.

What are your thoughts on Wal-Mart’s decision to implement a sustainability scorecard for electronics suppliers? Will this have an impact on the electronics supply chain?