Overview

Sustainability forms an integral part of our business strategy in India. At Bharti Walmart, our sustainable initiatives are focused on the following Global Sustainability goals

• To be supplied 100% by renewable energy
• To create zero waste
• To sell products that sustain our resources and environment

ENERGY
A few initiatives which have been undertaken by the Best Price Stores towards efficient energy consumption include:

• T5 lamps are utilized for lighting in sales areas and CFLs in administration areas
• LED lighting is used in parking areas and frozen rooms
• Daylight harvesting to substantially reduce the electrical consumption in the Store during daylight hours.
• CFC Free Refrigerant (R 404a), used in Refrigeration System, does not deplete ozone layer and thus making the system environmental friendly.
• Energy efficient compressor system, using two stage compressor systems, reduces energy consumption.
• Automated cold room lights
• Using paints with low Volatile Organic Compound values
• Water cold chillers for air conditioning
• Insulated glass with frost free lamination is used to reduce thermal loss

Green Store Initiative 

Best price is continually working to identify and implement environmentally sustainable steps that help us lessen our impact on the environment. Some of the changes we bring in this regard are the way we build our stores, which include:                                                                                 

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At Home Office, we strive to follow some fundamental rules to conserve energy

• Low flow plumbing/toilets, sensor taps and light motion sensors
• Turning off lights, air-conditioners and other equipments when not in use.
• Switching off computers, printers, photocopiers, coffee dispenser, etc. before going home.
• Switching off the lights of our room, cabin in office when going out for more than five minutes.
• Preference to energy efficient equipments / power saving devices in purchasing decisions.
• Using low energy light bulbs such as CFL, LED.
• Utilizing maximum day light by requesting housekeeping staff to open vertical blinds every day in offices/ cafeteria

WASTE
At Bharti Walmart, we constantly strive to minimize waste throughout the value chain. Following are few key initiatives towards the reduction of waste

• Identify, classify and measure waste at the stores/HO/DC through an NGO
• Establishing a baseline for dump
• Launched recycle plastic waste program in partnership with HUL
• Working with suppliers to reduce packaging and weight (glass bottle and packaging size); reconfiguring secondary packaging (pack more in less)
• Rainwater harvesting and to save water otherwise which would have been wasted
• Launched recycled cloth bags (sourced from an NGO) at reasonable costs to reduce plastic bag consumption at stores
• Evaluating the possibility of using refurbished fixtures in the stores
• At Home Office, we strive to use recycled wood for work stations, non-toxic fabrics and CRI certified (recycled) carpets.

PRODUCTS
We consider customer needs and expectations and help them to buy sustainable, green products. In this regard, here are the initiatives towards achieving the same

• Nearly all Private Band Suppliers are audited for Ethical and Social Compliance on Bharti Walmart's requirement including follow up required for closing the corrective actions
• Exploring opportunities of Backward linkage for meat in Punjab.
• Mapping usage of palm oil in Private Label products.
• Aiming to train and source from women in agriculture

Direct Farm Program
Bharti Walmart started the Direct farm initiative during December 2008 with only 65 farmers in the state of Punjab. Company introduced technical interventions like Soil Testing, Variety Selection, Nursery Management, Fertilizer and Pesticide application and programs on integrated pest management and post harvest management. Company has set up Demonstration Farms to train farmers in their own farms. Bharti Walmart has also invited leading research institutes and agri input players to support us in farmer training.

Today Bharti Walmart connects with over 7,000 small and marginal farmers across seven states delivering locally grown fruits and vegetables to its Best Price Modern Wholesale stores

• Under this program, Bharti Walmart is aiming to sustainably enhance the income of the small and marginal fruit and vegetable farmers,including women,through robust backward and forward integration.
• Aims to source 50% requirement of fresh produce directly from over 35,000 farmers in India by 2015
• Committed to improve farmers' income by 20% and reduce supply chain waste by 5% by end of 2015
• Ambition to impact one million Indian farms' workforce (which includes farmers, their dependents & workers, others involved under direct farm program)