Some Wal-Mart Suppliers Slow To Comply With Packaging Scorecard

Reuters reports that many of Wal-Mart’s smaller vendors – which represent about 20 percent of the goods the company buys – have yet to comply with the retailer’s packaging scorecard initiative, which was rolled out on February 1.

“We do not have all suppliers 100 percent compliant today, which is a disappointment because we did give them a year,” Reuters reports Matt Kistler, Wal-Mart’s senior VP of sustainability, as saying.

Kistler also said that the company is willing to pay more for greener products, but because the increase in price is small and because sustainability changes to its supply chain is saving money, consumers won’t necessarily pay higher prices.

It’s not clear how much the higher prices consumer goods manufacturers may be able to charge Wal-Mart will offset increased manufacturing prices. Wal-Mart’s sustainability initiative to downsize packaging cost Procter & Gamble $200 million by one estimate.