Feb. 11, 2008 – Wal-Mart is prepared to pay more for more durable, environmentally sensitive products, Reuters reports. Matt Kistler, the company’s senior vice president of sustainability, says that despite anticipated cost increases at the wholesale level, the decision won’t necessarily translate to higher prices on store shelves.

"Bad-quality products create waste, and so having tighter standards on the social side, on the environmental side and on the quality side will reduce waste," Kistler says. "We are even willing to pay more for products that have that."

He adds, however, that the higher costs need not be passed on to cosumers. "We are looking at a very small amount of dollars and the savings in the supply chain that we are finding because of sustainability in some cases will more than offset the incremental costs of what we are paying for a better quality item," Kistler says.

Wal-Mart launched its Sustainable Packaging Scorecard for suppliers earlier this week. In January, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott re-upped his company's sustainability commitment, vowing to take action on energy efficiency, ethical sourcing, and affordable health care.