Wal-Mart pushes suppliers to ‘go green’

Some of Wal-Mart’s suppliers concede that the new packaging recommendations could pose additional challenges. Still, several also say that they see the same business case — and potential cost-savings — that Wal-Mart does.

“Wal-Mart always challenges us, and all their suppliers, to be as efficient as possible with the products, and that happens to work. It saves us money, it saves them money and it’s good for the environment,” said Joe Cavaliere, a vice president of customer development for Unilever who is responsible for the company’s global Wal-Mart business.

Unilever is already seeing success with its All Small & Mighty, a more concentrated detergent that Wal-Mart executives have championed for its environmental benefits. Unilever has rung up more than $100 million in overall sales of All Small & Mighty, and is now at work on concentrated versions of other products as well.

Cavaliere admits that there’s pressure from Wal-Mart to make such changes, but said that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“The pressure’s good pressure because it’s good for us and it’s good for them,” he said.

Proctor & Gamble also is at work on a more concentrated version of its Tide detergent, which will use 47 percent less plastic than its traditional counterpart. It’s one of many ways the company has tried to reduce packaging and increase recycled materials in its products since the 1980s, said Clifford Henry, a company spokesman.

Henry concedes that it might be more difficult for companies such as his to make further packaging improvements. But he said Proctor & Gamble nevertheless thinks Wal-Mart is making the right move.

“It is more of a challenge for us? Yes, but I would also say to you that we have been working on this for a long time, so we know what works,” he said. “...It just means that we have to be a little bit more smart and little bit more innovative.”

Pat Tiernan, a vice president for social and environmental responsibility with Hewlett-Packard, said it even went so far as to consult with Wal-Mart on its packaging strategy. Tiernan said the company, which counts Wal-Mart as a major customer, thinks the plan make sense for both retailer and computer maker.

Wal-Mart’s Ruben said suppliers grew more enthusiastic about the packaging reductions once the company was able to show some financial arguments for the changes, and convince them this wasn’t just a do-gooder move.

“The last thing that our suppliers needed right now was a push into philanthropy,” Ruben said.

In fact, he said, Wal-Mart is expecting its suppliers to find business reasons for the reductions.

“They’re a business and they need to approach this like a business,” Ruben said. “And if it’s not something that done in this way it’s not going to be a success.”

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