Wal-Mart launches green jobs council

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has announced that it has set up a green jobs council designed to help drive the creation of so-called green collar jobs across its own organisation and its supply chain.

The council includes representatives from a number of leading clean tech firms and Wal-Mart suppliers, including BP Solar, Dematic, General Electric, HydroPoint Data Systems, Lennox, ReCold, Schneider Electric, SwissLog, Systecon, Thermastor, and Zurn.

Wal-Mart said the council will push its members to embrace further sustainability and green training programs, as well as lobby government to offer incentives to drive green job creation.

The council's inaugural meeting earlier this week identified the main barriers to the creation of green jobs as a skills shortage across the sector and limited access to capital for large-scale clean tech projects.

However, Leslie Dach, executive vice president of corporate affairs and government relations at Wal-Mart, argued that an increase in clean tech investment as part of a concerted programme for creating green collar jobs is essential to reviving the US economy.

"At Wal-Mart we believe that by bringing these companies together and working collaboratively, we can develop a larger green job workforce in this country," he said.

The retailer added that its existing environmental policies, such as its commitment to sourcing 15 per cent of its energy from wind power, generating zero waste and selling environmentally friendly products are already helping to create green jobs at many of its suppliers.