March 13, 2008 5:32PM

Wal-Mart’s Lee Scott: “History Will Judge Wal-Mart…”

By Liz Claman

Lee Scott talks the talk AND walks the walk. I talked to him today, live in Santa Barbara at the Wall Street Journal’s first-ever ECOnomics conference. He’s a low-key guy who doesn’t make bold, dramatic statements. He tells it like it is — and when it comes to going green, he’s calmly, but firmly, telling anyone who asks that, “We’re doing it. If it’s good for our customers, we’ll do it.” So he’s finding ways to turn the world’s largest retailer into a better corporate citizen when it comes to the environment.

Among Wal-Mart’s commitments:

–get customers to recycle their plastic bags
–get customers to buy Wal-Mart’s 99 cent reusable grocery bags
–putting compact fluorescent bulbs in all store lighting displays
–improving battery efficiency in warehouse forklifts
–aiming for zero-waste

Now, I asked him to be honest on one particular point: Was he always on board with becoming more environmentally friendly? Or did he have to come around to it? He said it was a process but now he’s come around and he feels history will judge Wal-Mart by how it helps cut down on waste and emissions. I held up one of the energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs we had bought at a Wal-Mart on our way to the conference and asked, “Do you have these in YOUR house?” No hesitation. “I do. It was one of my personal sustainability resolutions and now I’ve got them in my home.”

When a company like Wal-Mart takes the lead, others follow, or get lost in the shuffle.

So folks, today we finished out our first day at the ECOconference. Tomorrow, lots more live from Bacara, one of the most beautiful resorts in the nation. It’s been a busy, crazy day for our fabulous Fox Business crew who worked all night to set up our operations. Lance and Pete, my photographers, ran all over the place with me so we could bring unique shots to you, our viewers. Hope you like it, we’ll be back at it again tomorrow.

–Liz