Spring 2010
In late 2005, Walmart made its initial announcement that it was going to bring its massive supply chain on an environmental journey. I have to admit that although I saw this as a sign that sustainability had reached a tipping point, I was unsure how it would all play out. In 2010, we now have a pretty good idea that retailers' sustainability initiatives are here to stay. In addition to Walmart, major retailers such as Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Home Depot, and many others have implemented programs to improve the sustainability performance of their operations and supply chains. In a recent piece of research on the sector we found over $900 billion of purchasing power in retailers with sustainability programs. That is an unprecedented market force and it has engaged the executive suites of tens of thousands of consumer product companies in a pretty serious conversation about how to produce more environmentally and socially responsible products.
This trend in retail is a good thing, but the journey is long and there are many unanswered questions. How do we define more sustainable products? Do consumers need to know the grams of carbon associated with the potato chips they eat? How do they determine legitimate environmental claims? How to companies who have been producing more sustainable products get credit in an overcrowded market that includes as many laggards as leaders? What tools should companies use to support sustainable product design and development?
In this issue of Patterns, we shine a bit of a spotlight on some retail issues, but it is a narrow beam on a vast amount of activity. We encourage you to visit our retail page, where you can find some more detailed research on the sector and follow our blog on retail issues to keep abreast of future developments. As always, we also welcome your feedback on the newsletter and we appreciate your interest in Five Winds activities.
Kevin Brady
Director
Five Winds International
SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS
Read about recent efforts by Five Winds to create value for clients who sell to retailers.
How to Use Walmart's Supplier Scorecard to Your Advantage
Online "What-if" calculator looks beyond sustainability categories to provide business insights
A Wake-Up Call for Consumer Goods Companies
Consumer Goods Supplier Boosts its Score with Carbon Footprint
FIVE WINDS INSIGHT
Take a peek into Five Winds' insights on sustainability:
Pivoting the Economy towards Sustainability
How the retail industry is influencing companies and consumers to go green
