March 31, 2008 - Half of Wal-Mart suppliers missed the Feb. 1 deadline for completing the retail giant's Sustainable Packaging Scorecard, and the percentage hasn't improved much since then, the [Arkansas] Morning News reports. Wal-Mart intends to use the scorecard as a decisionmaking tool to favor suppliers that have made the most progress toward developing greener packaging.

As of January 30, more than 97,000 products had been entered into the scorecard by 6,371 vendors. Since then the total has risen to just 100,000, or about half of Wal-Mart products and a fifth of Sam's Club offerings.

"While we're not at 100 percent yet, we feel that we've made great progress," Wal-Mart said in a statement, noting that suppliers had a full year to prepare for the scorecard.

Many suppliers argue that the scorecard oversimplifies the manufacturing process and puts undue financial burdens on the supply chain. Modifying existing packaging - or products, for that matter - requires significant capital investments in redesign, testing, and new production techniques. (Wal-Mart has encountered similar resistance to its green guidelines for consumer electronics manufacturers.)

Such investments could put particular strain on smaller suppliers, many marketwatchers point out. "You just can't change a corporate culture like that in a year, especially at these smaller companies," says packaging consultant JoAnn Hines. "They just don't have the resources," said Hines. "It's an extraordinarily expensive process."

It had been suggested that some suppliers are hanging back to see how Wal-Mart deals with those that fail to submit the scorecard on time. Wal-Mart, for its part, has pledged to favor suppliers that score highly for sustainable packaging and, presumably, drop suppliers that don't.

The retailer says it will continue to work with its Packaging Sustainable Value Network, comprised of suppliers, government agencies, academics, trade associations, and NGOs, to refine the scorecard. Once the scorecard has been fully tested with U.S. suppliers, the program will expand to suppliers in Canada and Mexico as well.

View a demo of Wal-Mart's packaging scorecard here.