Wal-Mart collects supplier data for environmental label
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 20 July 2009
Wal-Mart is collecting data from its suppliers so it can label its products according to the overall impact on the environment.
The company, which owns Asda, is asking 100,000 of its global suppliers to provide information about areas such as water usage, greenhouse gas emissions and packaging.
The data will then be used to provide a Sustainable Product Index rating for customers. The retailer has not yet decided on the form it will take, but it could be number or a colour code.
Wal-Mart president and chief executive Mike Duke said customers wanted to know about the entire life-cycle of a product so they felt good about buying it. "We do not see this as a trend that will fade. Higher customer expectations are a permanent part of the future," he said.
US suppliers will have to complete the survey by 1 October. Wal-Mart said it will establish timelines for the rest of the world on a country-by-country basis.
The survey comprises 15 questions looking at energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, material sourcing and use and people and community (see below).
Chief merchandising officer John Fleming said: "The questions aren’t complicated, but we’ve never before systematically asked for this kind of information. The survey is a key step to establishing real transparency in our supply chain."
Wal-Mart is providing the initial funding for the Sustainability Index Consortium but said it would work with leading technology companies to create an open platform for the data. It called on other retailers and suppliers to contribute.
"We want to spur the development of a common database to allow the consortium to collect and analyse the knowledge of the global supply chain," said Duke.
