How to Seize the Initiative

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Cynics might call it a "greenwash," a bid to deflect attention from Wal-Mart's controversial labor and health-insurance practices. But it's not just window dressing, because Wal-Mart sees profit in going green. "We are not being altruistic," says Scott. "This is a business philosophy, not a social philosophy." Some top environmentalists seem convinced he's serious, including Amory Lovins, head of the Rocky Mountain Institute, who is a paid adviser. "We don't go where we don't think there's a genuine interest in change," says Lovins.

There's no question that soaring energy costs are fueling Wal-Mart's conservation drive. The company now insists that truckers shut off their engines when stopping for a break, yielding estimated savings of $25 million a year. By doubling the gas mileage of the fleet through better aerodynamics and lower-friction tires, Wal-Mart expects to pocket $310 million a year. One of the biggest items on its energy bill is lighting. Instead of going with the cheapest bulbs, the company is experimenting with costlier LED strips for refrigeration units that last longer and use less energy. Scott also wants to sell more organically grown food and cotton clothing, partly because it's good for the planet, partly because he believes he can get prices down and boost sales to low- income customers.

Like Bill Gates, who started his charitable foundation shortly after Microsoft's antitrust trial, Scott happens to be burnishing Wal-Mart's image at a time when his company's reputation is under siege. He acknowledges that he launched the plan partly to shield Wal-Mart from bad press about its contribution to global warming. "By doing what we're doing today you avoid the headline risks that are going to come for people who did not do anything," he says. "At some point businesses will be held accountable for the actions they take." Meanwhile, should Wal-Mart succeed at shrinking its environmental footprint and lowering prices for green products, both the planet and the company will profit. Sam Walton would have liked that. --By Daren Fonda. Reported by Steve Barnes/Bentonville, Rita Healy/Denver and Adam Pitluk/ McKinney

THE UTILITY ASKING TO BE TAXED AND REGULATED

Jim Rogers runs a power company that spews 62 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. That's a lot of greenhouse gas. But you won't find him on the hit list of environmental crusaders. The CEO of Cinergy, a utility with nine coal-fired plants in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, Rogers is an outspoken advocate of regulating carbon and imposing a price on emissions. His position makes him a renegade within his industry, which officially opposes any regulatory scheme that would force power companies to cut carbon emissions. It makes Rogers more likely to be invited to Sierra Club headquarters than to the White House, given that President Bush hasn't called for anything more stringent than voluntary cuts in greenhouse gases.

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