Wal Mart Sustainable Resource Fair Part 1 of 2

I have been to the mecca of retail, put my hands on the collateral and can report that we have a working solution for Climate Change - Wal Mart's massive market clout of $350 billion is being used for good. All of their other issues aside, this is one place where they can truly help the world and arguably can do it better than any country or company.

Last Wednesday, Wal Mart held the CEO Sustainability Summit in Bentonville, AR. Over 1000 Supplier CEOs were invited to meet with Sustainability experts. The goal? To take the first learning steps in providing Sustainable processes and products to Wal Mart.

Years from now, I'm quite sure we'll look back at October 10th as the beginning of what kicked business into climate change initiatives. Any one who had anything to do with Sustainability, was there - Eco-groups, Standards, Consultants, Universities, Investment groups... People you'd never think would be seen in the same room were looking to work together for the first time. Even the President of Seventh Generation stopped by the MTS table.

What set Wal Mart in the sustainable direction? A woman and then about 190,000 other women buying up organic cotton yoga outfits at Sam's Club. They sold out in 10 weeks.

Lee Scott, President and CEO of Wal Mart said on a Sustainability CD they were handing out, "We were paying very little attention to it, [Climate Change], but more of our customers were paying attention to it... the first thing that we saw that gave us a glimmer, was Sam's organic cotton yoga outfit, which sold out so quickly. That was the first inkling that there is a business strategy here."

I learned later on that CD that Wal Mart put in the largest buy for organic cotton that Turkey (the country) ever received. What that means is that more organic cotton will be available for everyone at lower and lower prices. If buying organic cotton is a step towards getting rid of pesticides in the soil and water, Wal Mart just did the world a big favor. With it's first bulk purchase, it created the economic base for a whole new, safe market. Now it's doing the same thing for seafood, jewelry, forestry and electronics.

While others are waiting for Washington to act, Wal Mart is doing something. The truth is, even if Washington did act, it would still be asking for the same things that Wal Mart is doing now along with their entire supply chain of 60,000 global manufacturers. And that brings us to the second big thing that happened on Oct. 10th - Wal Mart became a world leader and Washington became a market follower.

Two examples of where the market is working faster than legislation:

1. Out here in California, Arnold veto'd AB 48 which would have prohibited the sale in California of electronic devices that contain certain hazardous materials, including lead and mercury, making it consistent with the European Union's RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances) directive by 2010.

Meanwhile, today in 2007 you can walk into any Sam's Club and buy a PC that already follows the RoHS standard. Wal Mart buyers didn't need a law, they just needed a Standard to set the criteria. Those PC's aren't Best Buy or Comp USA PCs, they are brands that you can find in any store all over the planet. That's leadership.

2. Recently Mom's Rising tried to get the State of California to ban fire retardants in furniture, foam, fabric and carpets. It didn't go well. Too many at the state capital didn't want to risk being labeled as the ones who approved the burning bill.

Ironically, the State of California purchases carpets for its government buildings that have passed the California Gold Carpet Standard. In that standard, all the nasty fire retardant chemicals are already removed. [Consumers can buy the same carpets - just ask for ones that carry the California Gold Label.]

Standards to curb chemicals and waste and energy are already here and working their market pressure magic. We just need to be educated on them. It's not that hard. Heck if we can figure out the plot of "Lost" we can learn about standards.

This month's HBR (thanks Mark) addresses the corporate energy crisis. It has an article on Climate Business and Business Climate plus another one on why I'm blogging non-stop on the subject, "Word of Mouth Marketing." Social media is a huge influencer in today's market.

If anyone knows that well, it's Wal Mart. Many say that what they are doing is just to off set their bad press. It's working. Capitalism / consumption got us into the mess and Capitalism / consumption will have to get us out. Markets create tipping points.

The difference between a PR campaign and the real deal, however, rests in standards. Wal Mart can ask and get those standards met. That's market clout used for global good - and the women will be watching...

NEXT: Comparing Al's 7-Point Pledge to Wal Mart's Green Ripple Effect.