Wal-Mart Brazil will debut its eco-efficient hypermarket tomorrow in Brazil as part of the company's growing environmental effort. According to representatives, the Campinho store has the largest number of sustainability initiatives of any Wal-Mart building.
Some of the 60 initiatives in the R$52 million store include signs with LED lamps, uniforms made of recycled PET bottles, and posters made of recycled material an solventless ink.
The Campinho store is the first eco-efficient hypermarket in Brazil, but it will be joined soon by every Wal-Mart in the country. Each Wal-Mart Brazil location will feature sustainable initiatives tailored to geographic and physical possibilities.
It's easy to criticize Wal-Mart for its lack of local products and poor treatment of workers, but this latest initiative deserves kudos. If a giant conglomerate can prove the long-term economic viability of acting sustainably, it could inspire other influential brands to do the same.