[SustainableTompkins] Should we take Wal-Mart's money to support our local sustainable efforts?

[Stephen Nicholson]

The Energy Independent Caroline committee will be able to offer 1 CFL
from Wal-Mart to each household in Caroline as a reward for taking the
energy survey.
Last Wednesday Rob Elshire went to Wal-Mart and spoke with the manager
(he's from Speedsville). He thought that they would be able to provide
us with the number of lamps we need (1,200), maybe in conjunction with
GE.
 
>From Today's Ithaca Journal:
http://theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060920/COLUMNIS
TS06/609200312/1002/NEWS01
 
Town board member Dominic Frongillo is looking for help with the town
energy survey. He needs people to distribute surveys in their
neighborhoods so that the town can identify needs and help individual
households save energy. The goal of the project is to ensure that
everyone in Caroline has access to and understands information on how to
save energy and money with low-cost and no-cost practices that are
relatively easy to implement and will keep everyone warm and safe this
winter and for winters to come. There are programs to help each
household that wants to save energy but that, for either financial or
physical reasons, is unable to implement the practices, to have the
necessary work done in their homes. To help Dominic, call him at
539-7335. 
We also hope to use this process to identify and strengthen local
leaders and social networks in each neighborhood, which will be useful
on many occasions but especially during disasters.
 
 

Wal-Mart CEO Leads Quarterly Sustainability Network Meeting

Last Updated:Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Focuses on Climate Change and Impact on Supply Chain; 
Working with Suppliers, Academics, Politicians, and other Business
Leaders
BENTONVILLE, Ark., July 12, 2006 - As part of its ongoing commitment to
sustainability, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. CEO Lee Scott today welcomes
Lorraine Bolsinger of GE, Stewart Muller of Philips Consumer
Electronics, Christina Norman of MTV, and hundreds of suppliers and
company associates to Bentonville to discuss the issue of climate
change. During the company's Sustainable Value Network meeting, Scott
will lead a discussion about how Wal-Mart, working closely with
suppliers, academics, NGOs, politicians and other business leaders, can
affect change at all levels of the supply chain.
"We are all passionate about making real progress regarding the
environment," said Scott.  "By working together, we can help each other
save money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pass the savings on to
our customers.  Sustainability is good for the environment, and it's
also good for business."

The meeting will include presentations from representatives of the Rocky
Mountain Institute and other leaders in the environmental field, as well
as discussions with Wal-Mart suppliers on how sustainability can impact
the supply chain and benefit the customer.  
Steve Varon, President of Dana Undies, will discuss how his company is
working with Wal-Mart on energy efficiency initiatives, and as a result,
has been able to significantly reduce their energy costs.  And GE and
Wal-Mart are exploring ways to promote efficient lighting, especially
LEDs and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).  
Each of Wal-Mart's 14 Sustainable Value Networks - the teams responsible
for managing the sustainability of the various aspects of the business,
such as packaging, global logistics, apparel, and seafood - will provide
updates and share lessons learned regarding their efforts to improve the
company's carbon footprint.
Others who participated in this meeting include former Vice President Al
Gore; Jim Ball, Executive Director of the Evangelical Environmental
Network; Edward Shirley, President of Procter & Gamble North America;
Paul Rice, CEO of TransFair USA; Rich Noll, CEO of Sara Lee Apparel; and
John Lesher, President of Paramount Classics
For more info on these efforts, go here:
http://www.walmartfacts.com/FactSheets/8292006_Sustainability.pdf
 
 
After reading the above PDF, does anyone see any downside to supporting
Wal-Mart's efforts? I think that if our local manager is supportive, we
can use the company's deep pockets to our mutual benefit.
Wal-Mart owns 1% of the world's class 1 trucking fleet, and by demanding
a 40% increase in mpg from the manufactures, this results in a de facto
mandate that effectively applies to the whole trucking industry.
 
 
Stephen C. Nicholson
Energy Independent Caroline
220 Yaple Rd.
Berkshire NY
607-539-6923
scnfish at clarityconnect.com