BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the National Governors Association (NGA) have announced the formation of the “Greening State Capitols” partnership. This public-private partnership between Wal-Mart and the NGA will offer energy audits of capitol complexes and provide recommendations on efficiency improvements and estimates of how much energy and money each state can save.

“We at Wal-Mart are committed to sharing what we learn about reducing energy use and increasing building efficiencies,” said Leslie Dach, executive vice president of corporate affairs and government relations for Wal-Mart. “By working with the NGA in a collaborative manner, we can help accelerate the deployment of new technologies and best practices while saving states money and protecting the environment.”

“State and local governments spend more than $11 billion on energy every year and those costs are growing rapidly,” said Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, chairman of the National Governors Association. “States need to lead by example and the NGA is excited to partner with Wal-Mart and use its expertise to improve energy efficiency and save money at state capitol buildings across the nation.”

During a two-day auditing process, Wal-Mart will send a team of engineering experts to survey the state capitol facilities and suggest energy efficiency improvements based on technologies Wal-Mart has successfully deployed in many stores, clubs, and other facilities around the world. The areas covered by the audit will include:

• HVAC systems;

• Refrigeration equipment;

• Technologies such as programmable thermostats; and

• Building structure, including insulation and windows.

Following the initial audit, the engineers will produce a report with recommended energy efficiency improvements and estimated costs to the state, as well as the potential energy savings and carbon dioxide reductions. Wal-Mart will only recommend technologies with a return on investment within five years, unless a state specifically asks for a different time frame. At a state’s request, Wal-Mart will use its procurement capabilities to attract bids from interested companies and facilitate installation of the recommended technologies.

The National Governors Association will help identify and recruit state participants. Once a state is selected, it will identify a team of four to five experts to assist in the energy audit and implement the resulting recommendations. Within one year of completion of the audits, participating states are asked to provide the NGA Center for Best Practices with a two-page report of actions taken and resulting savings. NGA will catalogue these results for distribution.

For more information, visit www.walmartstores.com and www.nga.org.

Publication date: 03/03/2008