INSTITUTE INDEX: Wal-Mart goes green?

Percent increase Wal-Mart plans for its renewable energy production or procurement by 2020, according to a recent announcement from the Arkansas-based retail giant: 600

Kilowatt-hours of renewable energy the company hopes to be producing and procuring by then: 7 billion

Number of U.S. fossil-fuel plants whose output would be offset by that level of energy savings: about 2

Number of solar projects Wal-Mart operates worldwide today: nearly 300

Number of renewable energy projects the company added in 2012 alone: nearly 100

Rank of Wal-Mart among U.S. companies for both solar capacity and number of solar systems installed: 1

Percent of Wal-Mart's electricity globally that's now supplied by renewables: 21

Amount in energy costs savings Wal-Mart expects to enjoy annually as a result of the transition to renewables: $1 billion

Metric tons of greenhouse gases Wal-Mart's renewables plan would prevent from being released into the environment: 9 million

Metric tons of greenhouse gases Wal-Mart* currently produces worldwide each year: 21.4 million

Metric tons by which Wal-Mart's greenhouse gas emissions exceed those of the 50 lowest-emitting countries combined: 6 million

Year in which Wal-Mart pledged to boost energy efficiency by 20 percent per unit produced at 200 Chinese factories: 2008

Number of years later that the Environmental Defense Fund, Wal-Mart's partner in the Chinese efficiency effort, quit the program over the company's lack of cooperation: 3

Size of bribe Wal-Mart's Mexico subsidiary paid to change a zoning map in order to build a store near the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacán, a cultural landmark: $52,000

Amount the company paid in bribes to build a Sam's Club in one of Mexico City's most densely populated neighborhoods, without an environmental permit or other required licenses: $341,000

Amount it paid in bribes to build an enormous refrigerated distribution center in an environmentally fragile flood basin north of Mexico City: $765,000

Since Wal-Mart began expanding in the 1970s, percent by which the number of miles logged per household for shopping has grown: over 300

Typical percent sales decline suffered by local supermarkets and other stores when a Wal-Mart opens: 10 to 40

According to a 2009 study, factor by which revenue given back to communities by locally owned businesses exceeds that of stores like Wal-Mart: 2

Year in which Wal-Mart landed on Global Exchange's list of 10 "Most Wanted" human rights violators for problems including low pay, abuse of workers, and racial discrimination: 2012

* Including emissions related to powering Wal-Mart stores, distribution centers, company offices, and corporate jets, but not including emissions related to its supply chain, a global web of more than 100,000 companies.

(Click on figure to go to source.)