Wal-Mart Stores Inc will meet with its thousands of Chinese suppliers this fall as part of a big push to reduce waste and emissions at factories that make its products, said CEO Lee Scott.
“We started a very aggressive program in China that is not only going to deal with environmental sustainability, but is also going to deal more aggressively with the issues of sourcing in China,” Scott said during an appearance at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics conference.
As the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart is considered one of the few companies that can use its heft to tackle environmental issues, like reducing energy consumption. It has already pushed its U.S. suppliers to cut back on packaging and has set a goal of one day producing no waste and using energy only from renewable sources.
Wal-Mart is also working with its suppliers to make the most “energy intensive” products in its stores 25 percent more energy efficient within three years. By 2010, the retailer also wants all its flat-panel TVs to be 30 percent more energy efficient.
I haven’t studied up on all the changes happening inside Wal-Mart. Like a number of firms, they’ve obviously learned that offering eco-friendly products [and policies] brings in more customers.
“Green” is such a big buzzword in marketing today, all Wal-Mart needs is the publicity that “they’re trying.” This should make them appear more eco-friendly and attract more customers.
We’ll wait for the results. Let me know when they’re in.
Let’s wait and see how much “power” Wal-Mart actually has against the Chinese. In America it’s ‘Do it our way or we take your business to China.’ If the Chinese won’t go along with Wal-Mart, where will Wall-mart go? If Wal-Mart won’t sell the Chinese products, the Chinese will just go to the EU, Africa, Asia or South America. The only reason China might go along, is efficiency ($), or because they are loosing face at the Olympics because of the air quality.
It would be interesting if we one day would read: Wal-Mart forced to sell goods that are made in America
But then again… Hillbilly Joe won’t afford all the junk he’s used to…
telling China to go green? Ha that’s a good one. China would probably just start painting their machines green probably with interior house paint and be all “We green now!! you buy!! you buy!!”
well china was going green till we got all pissy about their lead cleanup program, and exporting all their toxic chemicals in pets foods…
isnt lead an all natural product???
Wow! We’re swamped with business acumen and international trading experience, this morning. NOT.
In the last quarter of the 20th Century, I dealt with major vendors from Japan, then Taiwan, then China. The crew in charge in China, today, are more likely than any of the preceding to build to your spec, a healthy and green spec.
There were always 2 explanations for the vacuous analyses of commenters here:
1. They often had to build for an American importer whose only spec was, “I want it as cheap as you can produce”.
2. Diminished greatly, nowadays – but, when we first went to the Mainland, you were expected to pay the same bribes as customary in Taiwan. Now, that grafters and cronies are liable to be executed, that’s going away really fast.
Which also mandates adherence to international standards.
What this means is China sending WalMart goods that have a useless 6 inch package backing rather than a useless 10 inch package backing. It is easier/cheaper for WalMart to stock and handle these items AND they can claim less packaging is greener all the way back to smokestacks in China.
Simple marketing–the irrelevant distinction.
#7 bobbo’s got it right and sorry, #6 moss has got it all wrong.
Yup, no matter how much we wish to demand green industries in china, we demand cheap prices as well. In my experience most of the real cost savings from china is not from cheap labor but cheap energy and production, both a direct consequence of tax exceptions (their “economic districts”) and lax environmental standards and enforcement.
This New York Times article says it best. http://tinyurl.com/385c89
If china had to clean up it’s supply chain to become green like the US, it’s products would become non-competitive in the market. So they are not going to do it.
It’s that simple.
Bobbo’s got it right because china can never be truly green and economically competitive. So, play the marketing game while leaving the true economics unchanged.
#8, Ah Yea,
If china had to clean up it’s supply chain to become green like the US, it’s products would become non-competitive in the market.
Not true.
Your article points out that it costs less to do it right the first time than it does to clean it all up later. The steel mill referenced in the article is a re-fabricated German plant that was shipped to China. No pollution controls were added. It is 1950s technology 50 years later.
It may cost a few dollars more to build an efficient factory yet the cost savings can add up quickly. The same savings are available to American homeowners using efficient appliances. They cost more up front to buy, but generate cost savings for the owner over the life of the product.
So it is less about cleaning up the mess and more about not making the mess in the first place. In the Quality Control field, it is the same thing. Don’t tell me about how many inspectors you have to find and remove all the defective product. Inspectors cost money and knowingly building a defective product in the first place is stupid. Tell me about how your process is tuned to not make defective products in the first place.
Check out some of the best automobile assembly plants in America. There is a very good chance they are Japanese owned. They are very “green” and produce little waste of any type. And they are profitable.
Yes you are correct on the observation that it is best to deploy environmental safeguards up front. Being the sane people that we are, we look not only at today but tomorrow as well, and see sustainability as an important component of production.
It would be nice if the Chinese were as sane as we are, but through my experience they are not.
On my last trip (still jet lagged) I took pictures of various coal plants belching black smoke out of their stacks. The cities I visited are covered with a fine grime and dark stains, the populace wears dusts masks (for at best a placebo effect), and the health of the general public is already decreasing, just to save a few cents on an item.
Given that the government has decided to pollute now and cleanup later, the costs down the road (both in upgrading their equipment and healthcare) will be enormous, which costs will eventually be passed along to their products therefore rendering their products uncompetitive as compared to those countries which decide to do it right the first time.
Yes, it’s crazy. It is also what they have done.
This is exactly why I also state that China cannot go on this way forever and eventually (sooner than later) the global playing field will level. The Chinese growth is unsustainable, and the cost of doing things the right way is pretty much the same no matter where you live. And given the way automation is now used, labor is not the significant factor most people believe it is.
dang! what’s the deal with green….they just took the “hyphen” from the name and put that big single “star” in its place….but most of the World is color blind except South Korea and Germany.