Walmart and GE are the superpowers of corporate sustainability. They have enormous impact (WMT) and influence (GE). Recently, I hosted a dinner about sustainability for Motorola where an executive named Bill Olson described how the company developed its Eco-Moto W233 Renew carbon neutral, energy efficient, environmentally friendly phone. To do so, Motorola needed a company that would sell it recycled plastic for the phone. That was GE. It also needed a retailer to enthusiastically sell the phones. That was Walmart. In fact, as Bill recalled, WMT exec told him that giant retailer would before long be selling nothing but "green" phones.

The point is, WMT and GE are changing business, often in unseen ways. So it's worth keeping up with their efforts to meet their own ambitious sustainability goals. Where are they succeeding? Where are they falling short? How strong is their commitment?

WMT's 2010 Global Sustainability Report, which was released recently, provides a snapshot of the retailer's work. The 47-page report (available here) is, if nothing else, a reminder of the scope and depth of WMT's efforts -- the company is buying renewable power, reducing packaging, reducing waste, making its fleet more efficient, and selling more sustainable products, and not just here in the U.S.

Here are some highlights:

When CEO Mike Duke (pictured below with EDF's Fred Krupp) took over last year from Lee Scott, there were questions about his commitment to the sustainability efforts. He now appears to be a believer.

In the introduction to the report, he writes that WMT has been able to "broaden and accelerate" its commitment to sustainability even during the recession. And he says:

Sustainability continues to make Walmart a better company by reducing waste, lowering costs, driving innovation, increasing productivity and helping us fulfill our mission of saving people money so they can live better.

That's about as good a summary of the business case for sustainability as you'll find.

WMT is going well beyond "green." Working on its own and with other retailers, WMT is conducting audits of factories in its supply chain, particularly in China, to make sure they comply with social and human rights standards. By 2012, the company says, "all direct import suppliers" (as opposed to suppliers to its suppliers" will be required to "source 95 percent of their production from factories that receive one of our two highest ratings in audits for environmental and social practices." WMT is also pushing suppliers to achieve higher standards of product safety, quality and energy efficiency.

Wal-Mart's environmental efforts are truly global. The company is buying solar and wind power in Mexico, sourcing local food in China and India, and analyzing the life cycle impact of consumer products in Brazil. Alleviating hunger has become a goal of WMT's charitable efforts, and so with CARE it is backing education, job-training and entrepreneurial programs for women in Peru, Bangladesh and India.

The company reports not just on victories but on frustrations. As you'd expect, WMT touts gains in such areas as fleet efficiency and building super-efficient, green prototype stores but it also admits where it has fallen short. But the company also said it was unable to meet a goal of eliminating PVCs from store-brand packaging because it couldn't find a suitable alternative.