Jan. 16, 2008 -- Big-box behemoth Wal-Mart and outdoor gear seller REI are both set to open new retail locations that build on previous green-construction efforts.

Wal-Mart is planning to open four second-generation high-efficiency stores (dubbed "HE.2") that will use 25 percent less energy than the baseline Wal-Mart Supercenter. The company says its HE.2 stores will incorporate lessons learned from the HE.1 stores, as well as new technological advances such as white roofs, low-flow bathroom faucets, LED lights, and an advanced daylighting system.

"These stores are another solid step toward achieving our environmental commitments," says Leslie Dach, Wal-Mart's executive vice president of corporate affairs and government relations. "We will continue to find new ways to build stores that have a reduced impact on the environment and ultimately reach a day when every new store is 25%-30% more energy efficient than it was in 2005."

REI plans to open its second green prototype store in Round Rock, Texas. Unlike the company's pilot green retrofit of a store in Boulder, Colo., the new store in Round Rock will test sustainable features in a new construction.

"While our first prototype store was a remodeled and expanded one-story space, Round Rock provides us the opportunity to experience the process of opening a two-story location in a new community from the ground up," says Doug Ludlow, REI's senior project manager of store development.

REI launched its green prototype initiative in May 2006 to pilot new, more environmentally sustainable approaches to store design and construction. The 32,700 square-foot store in Round Rock will be the second REI location to be built using the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Retail rating system, which is currently in pilot.

Wal-Mart's first HE.2 store will open in Romeoville, Ill., on Jan. 23. REI's Round Rock location is slated to open in the fall.