Wal-Mart Canada said Wednesday it plans to introduce a Supply Chain Sustainability scorecard for suppliers in October, part of a companywide environmental program announced two years ago to conserve energy, reduce waste and pollution, and decrease costs.

The scorecard will be used to measure suppliers, ability to reduce their impact on the environment.

The giant retailer met this month with dozens of trucking, rail, warehousing and distribution vendors to identify sustainability measures related to logistics and transportation. Suppliers are being asked to benchmark energy use, waste, emissions and other byproducts of their distribution activities against which progress will be rated.

"Our new rules for supply chain sustainability will cover everything from fuel use, to facilities and equipment standards, to the overall environmental commitment demonstrated by the companies we hire to ship and store our products. As always, the business case and payback is twofold: a better operation with better environmental effect," said Lesley Smith, Wal-Mart Canada's vice president of supply chain, in a statement. She said better planning would also reduce unnecessary shipping.

Last year Wal-Mart launched an extensive initiative to reduce the amount of packaging used throughout its network. The Canadian operation switched some shipping crates from cardboard to plastic, allowing them to be reused about 60 times instead of once. The company estimates it saved $4.5 million from the switch, and reduced waste by 1,400 tons and carbon emissions by 10,000 tons due to the elimination of cardboard production. The Canadian initiative is now being replicated in other Wal-Mart operations around the world.

Wal-Mart Canada, with 290 retail stores, said it began a pilot program last summer with logistics provider SCM to switch modes from road to rail for shipments bound for 10 stores in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The change has reduced carbon emissions by 2,600 tons, it said. The company also converted 20 truck generators to electric power, saving 40,000 liters of fuel. Together, the changes are expected to deliver annual cost savings of more than $2 million.

The scorecard will be used to assess logistics partners in four areas:

* Equipment, such as the use of alternative fuels, efficient engines and tires.

* Operations, such as enforcement of recycling programs, vehicle idling, and oil collection.

* Facilities -- responsible energy use (green power sources such as wind and solar) and efficient buildings.

* Corporate commitment to push sustainability initiatives throughout the company.