BENTONVILLE, AR – Wal-Mart laid out ambitious environmental goals in late 2005, and now that it is nearing the two-year mark, it is compiling a major report on how far it has come with the program overall, including reducing waste, using more renewable energy, and stocking more green products, according to the Web site www.forbes.com.

But one division said it is already well under way to meet its goals. Wal-Mart’s fleet of about 7,200 semitractor-trailer trucks is already about 15-percent more fuel efficient and the company knows what changes it needs to make to meet a target of 25 percent by late next year. The annual savings in carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, would equal taking 67,744 cars off the road.

Also, Wal-Mart is pitching in $2 million a year for research and development by two teams of national truck manufacturers — International Truck with ArvinMeritor Inc. and Peterbilt with Eaton — and has agreed to buy the prototypes.

New hybrid engines will deliver about a 50-percent efficiency increase on top of the 25 percent set for next year, according to www.forbes.com..

Wal-Mart is also working with Great Dane on prototype trailers that would cut fuel use with the help of aerodynamic designs, including adding a cover or skirting down the sides at the bottom of the truck and crimping the back end of the trailer so that the sides and top turn in. The effect of that back end design could add five to six percent to fuel efficiency by cutting wind drag.