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The answer, according to some at the Environmental Defense Fund is yes...and no.

According to Gwen Ruta, vice president for Corporate Partnerships, the answer is - Yes!

The CEO of Wal-Mart is a big job. The company's annual revenue exceeds $370 billion -- greater than the GDP of all but the 20 largest economies in the world. Each week nearly 200 million people walk into a Wal-Mart store. The products on Wal-Mart's shelves originate from over 60,000 suppliers around the globe. As a result, the company has an enormous environmental impact.

The good news is that Wal-Mart has made some praiseworthy progress in the past few years. The company has set impressive goals for the efficiency of its fleet and stores, jump-started the market for compact florescent light-bulbs, squeezed liquid laundry detergent into more compact packaging and laid the groundwork to drastically reduce plastic bag waste. Wal-Mart has also built a strong team of associates working to meet (previous CEO) Scott's goals and has started asking questions about the environmental footprints of its products. We are also heartened by (current CEO) Duke's leadership on this issue to date, as illustrated by the powerful talk he gave to Chinese suppliers last fall, urging them to face up to their environmental responsibilities.

And, as the NY Times reports, the roughly 200 million customers who pass through Wal-Mart's doors each year buy fluorescent light bulbs that use up to 75 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs, concentrated laundry detergent that uses 50 percent less water and prescription drugs that contain 50 percent less packaging.

Yet...there is a long, long way to go:

While environmentalists give Wal-Mart kudos for the changes it has made, they say that much of what it has achieved so far amounts to collecting low-hanging fruit. The company sells tens of thousands of products, and has demanded the overhaul of only a handful, they say. "The jury’s out in the long term," Steven Hamburg says.

And who is Steven Hamburg? He just happens to be the Chief Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund and it sounds like his answer is a resounding - NO!

And lastly, Andy Stern - the president of the Service Employees International Union - weighs in with a stinging rebuke:

"He (former CEO, Scott Lee) had the chance to be the Henry Ford of his generation, especially in the last few years, as the stock price soared," said Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, of Mr. Scott. "He could have found a way to share the wealth. Instead, he became the epitome of the greed that has brought our economy to where it is today."

So, is Wal-mart turning a green (page) leaf? Stay tuned to see how this story ends...

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