Saving Money or Saving Face? Wal-Mart Canada Pledges to Go Green

Wal-Mart Canada has faced some big labor problems lately. A 2005 lawsuit against the company’s anti-union labor practices made it to the Canadian Supreme Court this month, and at almost the same time workers in a Wal-Mart garage in Gatineau, Quebec managed to unionze, much to the company’s chagrin. So the company’s PR department did what it does best: divert attention.

David Cheesewright, CEO of Wal-Mart Canada, announced today that all of the company’s new Canadian stores will be “energy efficient.” The retailer has yet to meet any independent guidelines for energy efficiency, so its environmental claims are somewhat unclear, but the announcement comes at a time when Wal-Mart Canada could use some serious public relations karma.

Cheesewright insisted that the efficiency improvements were simply cost-saving measures, and said “environmental sustainability and business sustainability—it’s the same thing.” However, the company has yet to announce any such measures for its U.S. stores - or its stores in any other country, for that matter. The number of “energy efficient” Wal-Mart stores remains a pitifully small percentage of the company’s total operations. So if Cheesewright’s statements are true, Wal-Mart is missing out on a lot of cost savings - and we all know Wal-Mart wouldn’t do a thing like that. Perhaps the retailer is actually just looking for some free PR among our neighbors to the north.

Wal-Mart aims for ‘greenest stores on the block’ [Financial Post (Canada)]

Wal-Mart Canada Corp. pushed its green agenda ahead Tuesday by pledging that all new stores will be built to be markedly more energy efficient, and existing stores will be retrofitted to make them more environmentally friendly.

“Wal-Mart Canada (WMT/NYSE) has been intensely dedicated to environmental sustainability over the past three years,” Wal-Mart Canada CEO David Cheesewright said at the annual meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario on Tuesday. “Perhaps no change has been as significant as those made to the way we build and operate our buildings. And the changes are progressing. We are confident that Wal-Mart stores will be among the greenest on the block.”

Starting with a new store in Burlington, beginning in 2009 every new Wal-Mart will be at least 30% more energy efficient than existing stores. Older Wal-Marts will also be upgraded to be more energy efficient, Mr. Cheesewright said.

The changes include the addition of skylights in some locations to let in natural light and reduce the need for electric lighting; display lights that turn off automatically when there are no customers in an aisle; capturing waste heat from freezers and coolers and using it to heat other parts of the store; and painting the roof with a special paint to reflect heat and reduce the need for air conditioning.

“Some might say we’re just another company trying to endear itself to the Canadian public by hopping on the green movement. That perspective misses the point,” Mr. Cheesewright said. “For Wal-Mart, there is no distinction between environmental sustainability and business sustainability—it’s the same thing.”

The move is expected to save Wal-Mart $25-million in energy costs over the next five years.

Mr. Cheesewright said that reducing the operating costs at its stores allows Wal-Mart to charge less for the items it sells. Wal-Mart is Canada’s largest retailer with 309 stores in operation across the country. The company adds between 25 and 30 stores annually. The company employs more than 75,000 people across Canada and every day more than one million Canadians shop at Wal-Mart.

Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, August 26, 2008

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