The Ultimate Greenwashers

[One Sweet World]

Wal-Mart likes to say that it's green these days. They've even gotten Slick Willie to endorse them. And sure, the company is making some steps, but it's like Dick Cheney saying he's going to be somewhat less of a dick.

Wal-Mart's latest scam is an Earth Day initiative in which the Bentonville behemoth will give out payments to schools that have gone green. Good gesture, but pure greenwashing.

If Wal-Mart really wanted to become environmentally friendly, I have few suggestions for them that they could easily enact and would make a huge difference.

1. Curb waste. Wal-Mart contributes to tons of waste in plastic bags each year. Why not recycle containers and pallets, and give away reusable bags?

2. Carbon offsets. Wal-Mart has one of the biggest fleets of trucks in the nation, and they spew untold amounts of CO2. Wal-Mart needs to address this.

3. Local conservation. Wal-Mart stores take up more square acreage than the entire island of Manhattan, and their parking lots produce rain runoff with trash. Wal-Mart needs to be smarter about development.

Just a few suggestions. I'm doing some work with Wake Up Wal-Mart and I'm going to suggest these ideas to the fine folks there. If you have any ideas, I’d recommend you do the same.

Former Wal-Mart CEO explicitly said "We are not green." Ya think? If you're not, then stop trying to act like one until to make a real commitment.