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Green Valley In Wal-Mart's Back Yard

  • Green Valley In Wal-Mart's Back Yard
    Start-Ups Set Out to Sustain Giant's Eco-Friendly Focus
    By Ylan Q. Mui
    The Washington Post, 9/7/07
    Straight to the Source

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. Daniel Sanker has traveled to the most chic cities -- London, New York, Los Angeles -- as founder of the shipping and logistics firm CaseStack. But his quest to create a more sustainable business is taking him to the home turf of a company that is virtually synonymous with suburban sprawl: Wal-Mart.

Two years ago, the world's largest retailer set out on a mission to change that reputation by promising to transform itself into an eco-friendly business. It set wildly ambitious goals to create no waste, be supplied by renewable energy and sell more sustainable merchandise.

Critics have dismissed the effort as a public relations stunt designed to draw attention away from Wal-Mart's controversial labor and health-care policies. How successful Wal-Mart will be at greening itself remains to be seen. But there is little question that it already is reshaping its own back yard. [...]