Despite my friend’s objections to my having given Walmart props for their recent decision to help combat obesity, I stand by my commitment to celebrate the efforts big businesses make to alter their traditionally harmful practices whenever I come across them. An experiment in positive reinforcement, if you will.

And so, I’ve started a new recurring series of posts — Celebrating Eco-Progress — for this very purpose.

Today, a big hats off to the convenience store giant, 7-Eleven, for their latest effort towards sustainability.

Via Inhabitat:

With their excessive fluorescent lights and gigantic energy-sucking coolers, convenience stores are at the bottom of the green building totem poll. But 7-Eleven Japan found success with an eco-friendly store prototype that they will now officially open in 100 different locations by the end of the month. The green stores use LED lighting, solar-powered electricity, and reflective flooring to reduce the need for harsh overhead lights…

A solar energy specialist told the New York Times that retrofitting just 100 7-Eleven stores is the equivalent of taking 600 cars off the road.