In a tell tale example of corporate social responsibility, Wal-Mart de Mexico has literally dirtied its hand in turning a garbage dump into a mega mall.
Recently, Wal-Mart de Mexico opened Plaza Ecologica Ciudad Jardin, located in former Neza 1 dump, in the municipality of Netzahualcoyotl, State of Mexico. The mall has state-of-the-art technology to save energy and water. With an investment amounting to $640 million pesos, this is the first ecological shopping centre in Mexico, and will generate 3,500 permanent jobs, said the company.
Speaking on the initiative, Raul Arguelles, Sr VP of corporate affairs and people at Wal-Mart de Mexico, said, “We’ve turned an ecological liability, like the former Neza dump, into a social, urban and economic asset, whose benefits will be enjoyed by Ciudad Netzahualcoyotl families.
Wal-Mart has said that a significant aspect stemming from the new mall – part of the urban Ciudad Jardin Bicentenario project – was the cleaning of 109-hectare Neza 1 dump which in the past stored over 15 meters of garbage- to set the foundations for Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart Supercenter.
In order to clean the dump over 208,000 cubic meters of garbage were extracted. Also, some three tons of ashes and lime were injected to stop the decomposing process and the generation of methane gas to create a more stable surface for the units.
This ecological mall has leading sustainable technology to save energy, reduce water consumption and recycle wastes. Also, units are fitted with fibre optic and LED systems to optimise lighting to save energy, and re-use refrigeration heat, shrink wrap and cardboard.
