Two giants in their industries today signaled new initiatives to accelerate adoption of clean technologies.

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) today both announced progressive new clean technology programs at the Cleantech Forum in Toronto.

In front of a room of 400 investors, government representatives and other executives, the two companies separately described projects they're undertaking intended to accelerate the adoption of cleantech products and services.

Wal-Mart acknowledged it had been working behind the scenes with the Cleantech Group on its new program for thirteen months.

"We have the opportunity, we hope, to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, to create zero waste and to sell products that sustain our resources and environment," said Rand Waddoups, Senior Director, Corporate Strategy and Sustainability.

To get there, Wal-Mart and the Cleantech Group today launched a web portal, shown to attendees, to allow cleantech solution providers to introduce their solutions to Wal-Mart. The portal is publicly available here. [ed. note: the portal was not available as of the exact time of this posting, but is expected soon.]

Cleantech providers interested in doing business with Wal-Mart are invited to submit their information to the portal, where it will be aggregated, reviewed by the Cleantech Group and presented to Wal-Mart executives.

Wal-Mart has made giant strides in incorporating sustainable practices since CEO Lee Scott declared, in a call-to-arms two years ago, that "sustainability is good for the environment, it will save us money and it will actually add profits to our bottom line."

At the conference, Wal-Mart's Waddoups acknowledged that the company initially adopted its aggressive environmental policies as a defensive posture.

"We started by saying 'this could be a real problem for us, we need to understand how big of a problem this could be.' Over time, we realized this wasn't a problem, it was a real opportunity for us."

Wal-Mart's sustainability strides are impressive. As quoted by Waddoups at the conference, Wal-Mart has:

- Achieved 15% in two years of its 25% in three years efficiency improvement in its 6,500 truck fleet in the U.S., mostly by adding auxillary power units (APUs) to cut down on truck idle time

- Saved $2.6M a year by installing low-heat LED lighting in its freezers, and 35M pounds of CO2 a year

- Saved $10M a year by recycling cardboard and plastic. The company today said it is on target to actually make the 100M tonnes of solid waste it generates every week into a profit center, beginning this year

- Helped suppliers reduce their energy costs, which it says lowers the prices it pays for goods, which it then passes to customers—WalMart says it helped underwear maker Dana Undies save 52 percent a year on its electricity [ed. never thought we'd get a chance to write undies in a story.]

- Saved $1M a year on energy costs by removing the light bulbs from employee coke machines in the back rooms

- That's not to say all the initiatives Wal-Mart has tried to date have been successful. Wal-Mart's Waddoups acknowledged that, at two trial stores in the U.S., "the wind turbine we chose didn't work. It's broken all the time."

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