If the world is run by business, then surely Wal-Mart is the superpower. The planet's largest retailer and largest private employer, it's also one of the biggest corporations in existence.

Its sheer size makes it an obvious target for all kinds of criticism, some of it deserved. It's not surprising Wal-Mart is demonized by various community groups, women's groups, labour unions and other organizations.

But size can also make it a powerful agent for positive change. And last week, Wal-Mart Canada announced it will use that influence to help change manufacturing, packaging and consumerism for the better: The company will refuse to sell products with excessive packaging.

Call it a drop in the bucket or a publicity stunt or a cynical attempt to capitalize on the environmental movement, as so many green initiatives are these days, but it's a start -- and maybe, just maybe, a significant one.

With great power comes great responsibility, and with the world bending under the weight of producing and then disposing of all that packaging, the mighty retailer is lending credence to something long overdue.

"Making smarter, sustainable packaging choices is one of the best ways Wal-Mart and our suppliers can make a positive environmental change," said Guy McGuffin, vice-president of Wal-Mart Canada Corp.

The idea is to reduce packaging by 5% by 2013.

Not much, perhaps, but given the influence of Wal-Mart, the responsible-packaging movement just might begin to snowball.

Meanwhile, consumers can take things a step further, by being judge and jury on Wal-Mart's decisions and those of other retailers.

We can simply refuse all unnecessary packaging at the check-out counter - everywhere.

Most businesses pay dearly for disposal.

If we remove the package and take only the product, retailers will be stuck with massive amounts of trash formerly clinging to products, and the world will be well on its way to exceeding Wal-Mart's reduction goal and saving itself in the process.

Source