Want to sell to Wal-Mart? The retail giant wants to make it easier to make your pitch.
The company on Tuesday launched a Web portal for greentech entrepreneurs to submit ideas, spokesman Kevin Loscotoff announced in a keynote speech at the Cleantech Forum.
The Cleantech Group, which helped develop the Cleantech Accelerator portal, will evaluate the submissions and send finalists to Wal-Mart, which will make the final decision about which ideas to take on.
Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) hopes the portal will help the company meet its sustainability goals of using 100 percent renewable energy, reaching zero waste and selling more sustainable products, he said.
"We want to begin encountering more innovators to help us meet our goals," Loscotoff said, adding that Wal-Mart believes the portal will help it tap into the wide source of entrepreneurs and inventors.
The corporation is seeking technologies that will provide a good return on investment and that it can adopt within two years, he said.
Wal-Mart is particularly seeking technologies in alternative batteries for forklifts, wind harvesting, closed-loop water processing, sustainable building materials, household hazardous wastes and organic and oil-based wastes, he said.
"Sustainability is more than just a responsibility," Loscotoff said. "It’s an opportunity for all of us to bring about real and sustainable change."
For more information, visit the portal at http://www.cleantech.com/accelerator/ (registration is required).