MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – As part of its company-wide sustainability program, Wal-Mart Canada is spearheading a collaboration among supply-chain companies to measure and reduce the environmental footprint of its product shipping process and logistics network.

The company will introduce its first ever Supply Chain Sustainability Scorecard this fall to assess its network of service providers on the basis of environmental impact, efforts and improvement.

This month, Wal-Mart Canada assembled dozens of companies, including some of Canada’s largest trucking, rail, storage and distribution suppliers, to begin the process of quantifying various sustainability measures relevant to its product shipping processes and practices.

The meeting allowed Wal-Mart to outline its new expectations of supply-chain service providers, and to establish relevant and agreed categories for its upcoming scorecard.

“As a company, Wal-Mart has introduced sustainability programs and measures throughout our business,” said Lesley Smith, Wal-Mart Canada’s vice-president of supply chain.

“Our new rules for supply chain sustainability will cover everything from fuel use, to facilities and equipment standards, to the overall environmental commitment demonstrated by the companies we hire to ship and store our products.”

In the coming months, Wal-Mart will “footprint” its supply chain operation, and has asked service providers to audit their respective environmental impact related to operations on behalf of Wal-Mart Canada.

This will provide a quantifiable benchmark for future improvements.

“Our supply chain activities were already exceeding government and industry gold standards,” said Smith. “Together, with our suppliers, we’ve decided we can do better and we can set new standards.”

In October 2007, with the introduction of the Supply Chain Sustainability Scorecard, Wal-Mart Canada plans to assess the businesses it hires to ship and store its products based on four categories: equipment, operations, facilities and corporate commitment.