Turn off the Lights

By Ron Pereira Published on July 1st, 2008

Walmart is in the news with their new logo. Something that isn’t getting as much press is a new thing Walmart is also beginning to do in their stores… turn off the lights.

Where are the waffles?

I was recently in my local Super Walmart wondering why the whole frozen food aisle was dark. Then as I walked down the aisle to find the frozen waffles (my kids love them) the lights starting coming on in each freezer as I approached them.

It seems Walmart is making an effort to conserve energy and I applaud them for it. We bloggers are quick to pummel companies like Wally World for their supply chain antics… but when they do something good I think we should recognize them for it.

The Green Japan

During my recent trip to Japan with Gemba Research one of the things I noticed was how energy focused all the companies we visited were.

At Toyota, for example, when the workers went on break they turned off the lights in their area. Such a small thing likely provides huge overhead savings for Toyota and more significantly the environment.

What about you?

What about you or your company? Do you turn the lights off when people aren’t around? What other “green” things do you try to do in order to make our world a better place?

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Ron Pereira

Ron has more than 20 years of experience in various manufacturing, supply chain, and senior leadership roles. Ron has held the titles of process engineer, engineering manager, master black belt, and director of manufacturing & continuous improvement. In 2002 Ron was the first American to win the Nokia Global Six Sigma and Overall Quality award in Helsinki, Finland. Ron holds a bachelor's degree in automated manufacturing and an MBA in technology management.

Tim Braun
July 2, 2008 - 8:15 am
Reply

Our office areas have converted to low energy flouescents and placed the lighting systems in individual offices on motion sensors. Additional energy saving changes in our work environemnt include, auto flush toilets and energy efficient hand dryers.
Ron Pereira
July 2, 2008 - 3:12 pm
Reply

Thanks, Tim. I’ve always wondered if the air hand dryers are more cost effective than old fashioned paper. Personally, I like paper better since it’s faster. But from a cost perspective maybe the hand dryer is better?