Wal-Mart has announced it is to crank up pressure on its thousands of Chinese suppliers later this year as it enters the next phase of its plan to slash the environmental impact of its supply chain.

According to Reuters' reports, the company is planning to meet with its Chinese partners this autumn as it attempts to apply the same green procurement policies it has pioneered in the US to its international suppliers.

It is expected to focus on ensuring all its Chinese suppliers have strategies in place to ensure waste is disposed of in an environmentally sustainable manner and cut carbon emissions.

The company said it will also call on them to reduce the amount of packaging they produce and enhance the energy efficiency of their products.

Speaking at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics conference in Goleta, California last week, Wal-Mart chief executive Lee Scott said that the company has hired an outside consulting firm to help support the strategy and was looking to work with non-governmental organisations to help train its factory and plant inspectors to better monitor suppliers' environmental performance.

"We [have] started a very aggressive programme in China that is not only going to deal with environmental sustainability, but is also going to deal more aggressively with the issues of sourcing in China," he added.