BENTONVILLE, Ark.–Walmart plans to create a worldwide sustainable-product index that will serve as a single source of data for evaluating the sustainability of products.
The company will introduce this initiative in three phases. It will begin with a survey of its more than 100,000 of its suppliers throughout the world, which will focus on energy and climate, material efficiency, natural resources and people and the community. The second step will be creating a consortium of universities that will collaborate with suppliers, retailers and both government and non-government organizations to develop a global database on the lifecycle of products. The final step will be to translate this product information into a simple rating for consumers about the sustainability of products.
At a meeting of 1,500 suppliers, associates and what the retailer called “sustainability leaders” at its home office here yesterday, Mike Duke, president and chief executive officer, said, “Consumers want products that are more efficient, that last longer and perform better. We do not see this as a trend that will fade. Higher customer expectations are a permanent part of the future.”