As part of an initiative to reduce environmental impacts, supply chain service providers to Wal-Mart Canada will be required to reduce the impact of their operations on the environment. The companies which can't conform with the requirements may even lose their contracts with Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart''s focus on the supply chain service providers follows a similar drive to make manufacturers and packagers cut waste and emissions as part of their overall environmental impact based on a scorecard system set up by the company.

Suppliers will be rated according to their environmental impact, with those performing poorly at risk from being dropped by the world's largest retailer, Food Navigator USA reported. This stage of the scorecard will measure the efforts and success of companies involved in the shipping and logistics of products sold in the supermarket chain.

In July, Wal-Mart assembled truck, rail, storage and distribution suppliers to begin the process of quantifying various sustainability measures that will be set.