A Retail Giant Treads Carefully
Although customers cannot see most of the enhancements in Wal-Mart’s new stores, the company is making great strides in energy efficiency and waste reduction.
Jaime Lackey

In 2005, Wal-Mart opened experimental stores in McKinney, Texas, and Aurora, Colorado, to test eco-friendly technologies. In 2007, the company opened its first high-efficiency pilot stores. Pictured here is a Wal-Mart in Arlington, Texas.

In 2005, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott challenged his staff to develop a prototype that is 25 to 30 percent more energy-efficient by 2009.

In March of this year, the company opened a Supercenter in Las Vegas that is projected to be 45 percent more efficient than the standard Supercenters.

The pilot store, named the HE.5, is designed specifically for dry arid climates. It utilizes evaporative cooling and radiant flooring technologies. The system reduces the temperature of water naturally by pumping it through roof-mounted cooling towers, then runs the cold water underneath the retail floor to cool the shopping area.

“We are taking great strides — very rapidly — toward a high-efficiency prototype,” says Don Moseley, director of sustainable facilities with Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores.

In 2005, Wal-Mart opened experimental stores in McKinney, Texas, and Aurora, Colorado, to test eco-friendly technologies, including wind power, pervious pavement, waterless urinals and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. operates 4,219 stores in the United States, including 2,565 Wal-Mart Supercenters, 920 Wal-Mart Discount Stores, 593 Sam’s Club locations and 141 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets.

In 2007, the company opened its first high-efficiency pilot stores; the HE.1 stores are 20 percent more efficient than 2005 stores, and the four HE.2 pilot stores that have opened this year are 25 percent more efficient than 2005 stores.

These high-efficiency stores use new technologies to reduce energy consumption. For example, the HVAC and the refrigeration systems can work together with the installation of a water source heat pump and cooling towers. Heat rejected by the refrigeration system is reclaimed and converted into usable energy. By incorporating a loop-piping design, the integrated water-source system also reduces the amount of installed copper and the total refrigerant charge required.

Wal-Mart has also begun using sensor-activated sinks, low-flow toilets and high-efficiency urinals in its new stores. The company’s new fixtures result in a 17 percent reduction in water usage at one Supercenter — a savings of 500,000 gallons per year at one Supercenter.

Don Moseley, director of sustainable facilities.

Lighting is another major focus for Wal-Mart. The company has used skylights to harvest daylight in its stores for more than a decade, reducing its energy consumption for lighting by 15 to 20 percent in each store. More than 2,100 Supercenters have skylights and 450 Wal-Mart stores and Sam’s Club stores have skylights. “In a Supercenter, each system saves 800,000 kilowatt hours per year — enough to power 73 single-family homes,” Moseley says.

The company is also incorporating LED lighting. Exterior signs have used LEDs for the last few years, and LEDs became standard in new stores’ freezer cases in 2007. LEDs love cold, there is no mercury and they produce less heat, Moseley says.

He notes that LEDs are 52 percent more energy-efficient than fluorescent lights. The change to LEDs saves approximately 54,000 kilowatt hours per year per store, which is enough to power five single-family homes per year.

Moseley also notes that LEDs last about 8 years, whereas conventional bulbs last about 2 years, which reduces the company’s re-lamping and maintenance costs.

Wal-Mart has begun using waste materials in its new buildings. Moseley explains that Wal-Mart stores are now constructed with concrete that contains 20 percent fly ash or 25 percent slag, which are waste materials from the power and steel industries. “This offsets the amount of cement used and reduces the carbon footprint of that material,” Moseley says.

Harry Eng, vice president of facilities management and environmental services.

The company is eager to share its findings with other retailers. Harry Eng, vice president of facilities management and environmental services, says, “As a member of PRSM’s Green Council, I look forward to transferring the learnings of Wal-Mart’s sustainability efforts to other retailers so that they can participate in the effort of protecting our environment for future generations.”

Eng adds, “[Wal-Mart associates] are excited to be involved in the efforts to reach the company’s goals of being supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, creating zero waste and selling products that sustain our resources and the environment. These challenges have brought new excitement to facilities maintenance and have resulted in a number of cost savings and revenue-generating ideas.”

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. operates 4,219 stores in the United States, including 2,565 Wal-Mart Supercenters, 920 Wal-Mart Discount Stores, 593 Sam’s Club locations and 141 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets. The company also operates 3,171 units outside the U.S.

The company’s facilities maintenance and environmental services staff exceeds 750 associates, including facilities managers, field-based HVAC and refrigeration technicians, support for a sign manufacturing facility and a team to support the home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company outsources other maintenance activities.

In March, Wal-Mart opened a Supercenter in Las Vegas that is projected to be 45 percent more efficient than the standard Supercenters. The pilot store, named the HE.5, is designed for dry arid climates. It utilizes evaporative cooling and radiant flooring technologies.

The facilities department focuses on maintaining existing locations but also partners with the design and construction teams to identify opportunities to improve future locations based on experience in maintaining operating units. The facilities team also handles maintenance at vacated Wal-Mart Stores. “The complexity can change on leased facilities as the lease terms can differ from location to location,” Eng says.

Facilities managers focus on specific areas, including landscaping, parking lots, roofing, structure, electrical, plumbing, interiors, and various equipment units such as Tire & Lube Express, food, material handling and vertical transportation.

According to Eng, “These teams are the foundation of the facilities support departments that play key roles in our success, but they are not the only contributors.”

The building performance and controls team uses a centralized energy management system (EMS) to remotely monitor and control the heating, air conditioning, refrigeration and lighting systems for all stores across the country. “The EMS enables us to constantly monitor energy usage, analyze refrigeration temperatures, observe HVAC and lighting performance, and adjust system levels from a central location around the clock,” Eng explains. “When a local utility company requests our participation in an energy curtailment event, we have the capability of making these adjustments for all facilities under their jurisdiction on a moment’s notice with a few key strokes from our home office.”

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. operates 141 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets.

The technical and mechanical services teams are involved with the installation, maintenance and repair of all HVAC and refrigeration systems. “We have approximately 30 construction managers and almost 300 Wal-Mart technicians located across the country,” Eng notes. “In addition to maintaining and repairing the HVAC/R systems, these field associates play a key role in the company’s sustainability program by improving equipment operating efficiencies through the upgrading of air handling units, dehumidifiers and the installation of variable frequency drive motors on the refrigeration systems.”

The environmental services team focuses on services that include waste management and recycling, stormwater maintenance, automotive waste, industrial hygiene, wastewater management and hazardous waste disposal. From 2005 to 2007, Wal-Mart recycled more than 16.8 billion pounds of cardboard, preventing more than 212 million trees from being harvested. The company also recycles plastic wrap, plastic garment hangers, plastic and aluminum containers, and used tires. “This team is currently involved in additional recycling opportunities including a construction and demolition waste program, waste cooking oil recycling program, hazardous waste minimization program and the development of diversion opportunities for organics such as food products,” Eng says.

Click here to download a PDF on WAL-MART’S “GREEN” PRACTICES IN ACTION.

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