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December 13, 2006
Wal-Mart's plan to "go green"
An article recently in USA Today revealed Wal-Mart's plans to "go green." The company is putting in place a number of programs to encourage sustainability and motivate its suppliers to produce goods that do no harm to the environment. Part of this plan calls for smaller or reduced packaging and more recyclable content.
All this sounds good for the environment, but it will also be good for Wal-Mart. Part of the statement from the company says "Wal-Mart said Friday that it will start 'grading' suppliers on how well they do. Less, in this case, is more. When it cut excess packaging on its private-label line of toys, Kid Connection, the company estimates it saved $2.4 million a year in shipping costs, 3800 trees and 1 million barrels of oil. Downsizing a product's package is tricky, though. Products are sold on store shelves by volume. Bigger packages get more shelf space and can catch consumers' eyes better."
Is this good for the package printing and converting industry in the long run? I think that ultimately, we must all work toward what is good for the environment, even if that means an adjustment in our industry today. What do you think?
- Keith Hevenor
Editorial/Conference Director
CMM International
Posted by khevenor at December 13, 2006 01:40 PM
Comments
Walmart will now expect its cut from Kid Connection because it estimates it saved $2.4 million a year in shipping costs, 3800 trees and 1 million barrels of oil. I am all for reducing resources to preform a function, but lets not assume Walmart will not profit from their program and their suppliers realize less then expected. Your own efficencies should impact your profit only.
Posted by: a. lawson at December 14, 2006 03:51 PM
I don't have a problem with Wal-Mart making or saving money, and I applaud its attempt to do something good for the environment. In fact, if any environmental initiatives will be successful, they must make market and dollar sense. This might even inspire other environmental innovations. What I don't like is the concept of one, company, i.e., Wal-Mart, dictating rules all through the supply chain as it's attempting to do with its "scorecard" concept. The analogy that fits here is somewhat like a Black List in reverse. If your company's name isn't on the list, it's a bad thing. Click here for Yolanda's complete editorial, titled "Wal-Mart's 'Clean' Image"
http://pffc-online.com/mag/paper_walmarts_clean_image
Posted by: Stephanie Tuggle at January 3, 2007 07:20 AM
