Wal-Mart Rates Vendors On Packaging

Last month Wal-Mart introduced an environmentally minded packaging scorecard that evaluates suppliers based on the sustainability of their packaging and rates them against their competitors, Ad Week reports.

With more than 60,000 suppliers around the world, Wal-Mart aims to reduce overall packaging by 5 percent by 2013, removing 213,000 trucks from the road and saving 76 million gallons of diesel fuel in a year, according to Ad Week. Wal-Mart’s buyers will be using the scorecards to inform their purchasing decisions.

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The ripple effect the initiative could have on the way products are packaged is enormous. Evaluation metrics include greenhouse gas emissions, product-to-package ratio, the amount of renewable energy used in packaging production and transportation emissions.

One example is laundry detergent manufacturers switching to more concentrated formulas in smaller packages. What will the packaging scorecard be on a biodegradable flower pot from China vs. a plastic one produced domestically? We’re curious to find out.

Wal-Mart will hold its annual invitation-only Sustainable Packaging Exposition this month to connect vendors and suppliers.

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For the complete Ad Week article, click here.

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