The Green Room

GreenBiz Group has launched its first VERGE 25 Awards honoring sustainability efforts across different industry categories, and Walmart’s senior computer buyer Tanya Manwiller has been nominated in the Smarter Supply Chains category. The awards, which will be decided by online voting through November 7, celebrate individuals who are leading progress through systems and technologies in energy, buildings and transportation.

Tanya has played an instrumental role in helping to infuse sustainability in the sourcing and buying of the products we sell to our customers, specifically laptop computers. These products pose a sustainability challenge because of their high energy use, so Tanya worked to find a way to reduce that problem. Using the Sustainability Index as well as research tools from The Sustainability Consortium, she found that laptops with advance power management tools reduce energy use, but these features were only available in 30 percent of the laptops sold at Walmart.

Tanya set a goal for the holiday season to buy 100 percent of laptops with advanced power management as their default setting. It will eliminate more than 200,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and save customers money on electricity bills. Tanya’s dedication to sustainability and her continued efforts to integrate the Sustainability Index into her buying decisions have earned her recognition by the VERGE 25 Awards.

Associates like Tanya are key to helping us make a difference for our customers, our business and our planet. Help us support her efforts by voting for Tanya to win the VERGE 25: Smarter Supply Chain Award.