Wal-mart's green store

I grudgingly give Wal-Mart credit for doing anything good -- and it looks like I need to give them some credit. Wal-Mart opened its first environmental demonstration store in Burlington a couple of weeks ago, and with their lead, other big box retailers, not to mention the property development industry, may actually take notice. Wal-Mart's scale allows them to dabble in effort like this to trial new concepts, without having to worry about impacting the bottom line. Wal-Mart isn't doing it just for the environment of course -- the driving force is the long term sustainability of their business. Put simply, a green building actually saves money in long term maintenance.

Some of the green features of the building:

• Geothermal heating and cooling, leveraging 15km of piping under the store's parking lot
• Daylight harvesting using skylights and sensors to monitor natural light available and adjust electrical lighting accordingly
• Store is powered by 100% renewable power -- wind and water
• In-floor radiant HVAC that uses water instead of air vents, requiring less electricity
• CO₂ refridgeration system
• Heat from refridgeration system reused to heat store
• LED and motion sensors for lights reduce energy
• Roof membrane that reflects sunlight to reduce heat gain during the summer
• Increased roof insulation to reduce energy loss
• Low flow sinks, toilets and urinals
• Concrete floors -- no carpets
• Close to public transport

So, grudging recognition for what they're doing -- but, the Wal-Mart effect on economies and global trade ... well, that still sucks.