What if there was one source for comprehensive and credible information about the environmental and social sustainability of everyday products? Could such a resource accelerate the environmental and social change we need across the retail industry, from suppliers to retailers to consumers?

In 2009, Walmart provided the initial funding for The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) to help answer these questions and make such a resource a reality. The goal of TSC is to develop and promote science and integrated tools that can improve informed decision making for sustainability throughout the entire lifecycle of everyday products. GreenBiz.com's recent interview with Bonnie Nixon, TSC's executive director provides a great overview of the consortium's efforts.

But creating a comprehensive system to evaluate the sustainability of products in a rigorous, credible and transparent way across thousands of different product categories, each with tens or hundreds of products will be no small feat.

Take for example, a relatively simple product like sour cream. Walmart and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) examined the environmental impact of its private brand sour cream, and discovered many "hot spots" throughout its life cycle. For instance, the methane gas from cows, emissions and fuel usage from transportation and distribution, and energy and water usage from pasteurization and homogenization processes, just to name a few. Now imagine doing this assessment for the thousands of products on every shelf across Walmart's more than 9,000 stores globally, and you begin to get a sense of the challenge at hand.

But with all of the resources at TSC's disposal, this organization has the potential to tackle these environmental and social challenges head-on and truly transform the retail industry. TSC already has over 75 corporate members, including retailers Ahold, Kroger, Marks & Spencer, Safeway and Walmart, and embodies an economic network that stretches around the world.