Wal-Mart to grade "sustainability" of electronics kit

AMERICAN ALL-PURPOSE superpower supermarket Wal-Mart has decided to hop onto the green bandwagon, having announced that it will ask suppliers to fill out an environmental scorecard for their products come 2008.

Electronics suppliers will fill out the scorecard that will assess the sustainability of the product, says Wal-Mart, covering areas such as energy efficiency, durability, upgradability and the overall size of the package containing the product. Products will also be evaluated on how many non-hazardous substances are used in the product, such as alternatives to materials like lead and cadmium.

The scorecards will be available for consumers to check out and make green-friendly decisions on their purchases. This is a great idea, of course, but we at the INQ are wondering just how many Wal-Mart shoppers are all too bothered, as they cram their purchases into their pick-up trucks and SUVs before heading off home to switch all the lights on.

Ross Farnsworth, Wal-Mart speechmaking electronics spinster said during a conference that he and Wal-Mart believe that "this scorecard will move electronics in the right direction - a sustainable direction."

"The scorecard encourages improvements that are good for business as well as for the environment, reflecting Wal-Mart's view that being a profitable and efficient business goes hand-in-hand with being a good steward to the environment," Ross said. Riiiiiight.

Wal-Mart, as well as treading new grounds with innovative solutions , is co-sponsoring a design contest with the Green Electonics Council, where suppliers are challenged to come up with a consumer electronics product that sticks all of the scorecard metrics into practice - the winning product will be crammed onto Wal-Mart shelves all over the States. µ