Bentonville-based Wal-Mart has a new system designed to let people know if certain products are environmentally-friendly.

Today the retail giant announced plans to create a sustainable product index.

Wal-Mart is going where no retailer has ventured before. They want to measure the sustainability of the products they sell, which means they will need some cooperation from suppliers.

When Lee Scott launched Wal-Mart's sustainability initiative several years ago, one of the three goals was to sell products that sustain resources and the environment. Now the world's largest retailer is taking a big step towards that goal.

The sustainability index will give shoppers a better idea of exactly what they are buying. Products will receive some sort of sustainability rating, which will likely be labeled on the product. Creating this index will take a while and Wal-Mart plans to roll it out in three phases.

The first phase involves surveying it's suppliers.Next, a collaboration of universities, suppliers and retailers will create the index. The third phase will be providing the index to consumers.

"I think all consumers today and in the future are interested in costs, and if this is a way to take out costs, waste out of the system, it's good for everyone but also too it's making products that are more eco-friendly," says Matt Kistler, Wal-Mart's Senior Vice President of Sustainability.

The supplier survey consists of 15 questions covering everything from energy use to natural resources.

Wal-Mart is asking it's top tier U.S. suppliers to fill out the survey first. They have until October to complete it.

Wal-Mart works with more than 100,000 suppliers around the world.