For many enviros, the name "Wal-Mart" has always triggered a shudder. The world's biggest retailer has been charged with exacerbating suburban sprawl, burning massive quantities of oil via its 10,000-mile supply chain, producing mountains of packaging waste, polluting waterways with runoff from its construction sites, and encouraging gratuitous consumption. (And those are just the environmental complaints.)
But it's precisely Wal-Mart's size and reach that could make it a powerful force for good for the planet, say market observers and a growing number of activists. The company controls so much of the retail market, and has such sway over manufacturers, that any green initiatives on its part have huge ripple effects. And it's certainly CEO H. Lee Scott's intention to make waves.
In October, Scott announced a preposterously ambitious goal to transform Wal-Mart into a company that runs on 100 percent renewable energy and produces zero waste. Since then, he has impressed greens with specific commitments to cut the corporation's greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 percent over the next seven years, double the fuel efficiency of its truck fleet within 10 years, reduce solid waste from U.S. stores by 25 percent in the next three years, and double offerings of organic foods this spring, selling them at prices more affordable to the masses.
Enviros hope Wal-Mart will have the same game-changing effect on mainstreaming environmental strategies that it has had on reducing prices. "Wal-Mart's new commitments to increase efficiency and reduce pollution and waste are important first steps for a company that has such a profound impact on our environment," Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said in a public statement. "More companies should take these positive steps toward safer and healthier communities."
Amanda Griscom Little recently spoke with Scott about his vision for "democratizing sustainability" and listened to his pitch about how green strategies will help fatten Wal-Mart's bottom line.
question Six months ago you outlined long-term goals to make Wal-Mart a company supplied by 100 percent renewable energy, creating zero waste, and selling products that sustain our resources and environment. Tell us what motivated you to set those goals.
answer I think two things happened. One, as we look at our responsibility as one of the world's largest companies, it just became obvious that sustainability was an issue that was going to be more important than it was, let's say, last year, and the years before. I had embraced this idea that the world's climate is changing and that man played a part in that, and that Wal-Mart can play a part in reducing man's impact.
But Wal-Mart’s care for us goes beyond that simple relationship. As many of us have seen if we have been to a Wal-Mart, they hire people who normally would not be able to get a job. The company knows that by broadcasting itself as positive and helpful in nature it can increase its revenue and in turn increase the amount of assistance it provides to us the consumer. “In 2004 Wal-Mart donated over $170 million. More than 90 percent of these donations went to charities in the communities served by Wal-Mart stores.’ Even more heartfelt than this, Wal-Mart was the leader in goods based relief efforts for victims of hurricane Katrina. “Walmart’s response to the hurricane was lauded even by its critics: it donated more than $20 million worth of merchandise, including food for 100,000 meals, and it promised jobs for all of its displaced workers.” And the first supply truck to arrive at the superdome was a Wal-Mart truck.
Wal-Mart is a chain like stores. It operates in a very vast market. This company has comewith both advantages and disadvantages. It has changed the relationship between big-box retailers and manufacturers. This company has been viewed to be the core cause of bankruptcy of several American businesses together with a high rate of unemployment in the United States. Some people seem to be voting for Wal-Mart while others are not on its side. The supporters are for the company since it has enabled them to shop at a low-cost and at one-stop shopping. Others are against the company since its causing a lot of harm to the small businesses and to the economy of the United States as whole. There
I don't see Wal-Mart as a huge retailer trying to take over the world with cheap prices. I see Wal-Mart as business that has played their cards the way they were dealt. Our economy is poor right now; banks are hurting because people a...
Walmart was the first organization to introduce product life cycles for all of its products. This caused its competitors to follow shortly after. Walmart reasoned that by providing product life cycles, it provided the company with sustainability factors which they could use to track the movement of products. How does sustainability affect Walmart’s bottom line? With sustainability, Walmart can see what products consumers want more of and could have those products readily available at all time and in all locations for their loyal customers. Today, Walmart’s technology has become the key enabler for customer service. The lifecycle
According to Smithson, Walmart can expand its markets to new and emerging markets especially in the third world countries, which can significantly increase its revenues. Secondly, the company can reform is employment practices and improve the quality standard and in doing so, attract more customers and improve its brand image. On the other hand, the company faces threats such as the rising healthy lifestyle trend I that the company in most cases does not provide customers with healthy goods. At the same time, the company can capitalize on this aspect and increase its revenues. Aggressive competition from other discount retailers such as Target creates a great threat to the company (Smithson, 2015).
Roberts, Bryan. Berg, Natalie. Walmart: Key Insights and Practical Lessons from the World's Largest Retailer. Kogan Page Limited, 2012. Print.
Castro Wright as the vice chairman of Walmart took charge of these initiatives after surprising statistic from his research. Therefore, he built the Project Impact with three strategic initiatives which are “Save Money, Life Better”; “Win, Play, Show” and “Fast, Friendly and Clean”.
However, many news articles including trustworthy sites such as “the guardian” state that Walmart still have a long way to go in terms of their environmental efforts. The authors claim of the company eliminating 28.2 metric tons of greenhouse possessions is true, in fact even exceeding their initial goal of 20 metric tons. Although, given the pure size of the company, the reduction of greenhouse possessions is far from enough to make a drastic impact. The company’s partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) was a massive boost to the company’s reputation regarding the environment. Walmart had invested a lot of their money towards the NFWF and correlated the amount of land preserved with every acre developed by Walmart. This meaning that due to this partnership, approximately 100 acres of land was preserved in Walmart’s name. When hearing this, all does seem perfect regarding the company’s environmental concerns. However, for a company the size of Walmart, it is very difficult to keep the company running completely “Green”. This can be supported as there are many articles regarding the company’s drawbacks towards the environment. An article from usnews.com states that one Walmart supercenter alone uses the same amount of energy as 1,095 US homes do in one day. In addition, the
The Wal-Mart stores had six different environmental analyses that are been given in this case study. They are some other major facts that are listed and can be listed under this general environment analysis. The first factor is economic factors Wal-Mart are having different economic conditions in tim...
While keeping in mind they are a business which rely on profits. Walmart is a popular company that is known for their low prices. This corporation is also known for giving back to communities by making charitable contributions of 100,000 grants annually, as well providing disaster relief to various countries burdened by disasters and donated $100 million dollars to neighborhoods and law enforcement agencies. They also provide employees with college grants to obtain a two or four year college degree, Walmart is investing in their employees by giving them an advantage in their future. Walmart has also found ways to reduce waste by creating materials that are nontoxic and are recyclable friendly. With the use of sustainability, strategic philanthropy, causing marketing, shared values and stakeholder that is why this company was ranked number one by Forbes list in
Wal-mart has a reputation for caring for its customers, of course their employees, and for the prospective public. So Wal-Mart can be an industrial leader for the world of shoppers with an eye for lower affordable prices, company decision makers would continue it's systematic strategies that it's founder and president established years ago. Sam Walton believed in three guiding principles in his strategy planning they were to provide the customer with good value and service, to have a good relationship with its associates, and to be involved with the community.
Walmart is one of the biggest retail stores around the world. There are over 6,300 stores worldwide. Therefore, we must evaluate the impacts these stores bring to employees and consumers. Over the past couple of years, there has been thousands of law suits against Walmart for mistreatment of employees and even protests on building new Walmart’s in towns due to the negative impacts on communities. Walmart’s negative outlooks over the manufacturing companies, employees, and impacts on cities have caused controversy around the world concerning their services to their customers. Either talk about papa or the amount of people that lose their job at Walmart
Walmart has had a long-standing presence in America society since the middle of the 20th century, seen as a place to get everything done, Walmart has become a fixation in our society. From grocery shopping, to changing your oil and even filing your annual tax returns, Walmart is always there, everyday. Started by Sam Walton in 1962, it began as a small operation catering to a small Arkansas community. It was started on principles very similar to small local businesses in small towns. Today Walmart has gotten a different, darker reputation. On the surface, Walmart may seem like the solution to everyday issues. Low-income families are attracted to the low prices, and people who work odd hours benefit greatly from the 24 hours a day that many Walmarts are open. Lately, Walmart has also managed to be publicly recognized as a store that sells many of today’s green products, including organic food, environmental conscious cleaning products, as well as, paper products made from recycled paper. However, underneath all this, Walmart has a different side. Exploitation of its workers is widespread amongst Walmarts who do not belong to a union, especially in the United States. Wal...
Environmental awareness has also become a distinctive competence for Walmart. The company has a genuine concern to reduce their environmental footprint, which will appeal to customers who support this initiative. They are leading the way for other big-box retailers who can make a big difference with small changes. All of their goals and objectives are published in the annual statement for shareholders and the general public.
The sustainability of ecosystems on which the global economy depends must be guaranteed. And the economic partners must be satisfied that the basis of exchange is equitable” (World). This quote demonstrates the complexities of sustainability. Another thing corporations should focus on when trying to be sustainable is their environmental impact. Annie Leonard in her book The Story of Stuff says that companies can significantly reduce their toll on the environment by changing their design. The design determines “the amount of energy used in making and using the product,” “the length of the product’s life span” and “its ability to be recycled” (Leonard). All these things determine the amount of resources a company must use, so simply changing a product’s design is one way a company can have a large impact on the sustainability of the environment in which it operates. One example of this is that “Wal-Mart attributed more that $100 million of its 2009 revenue to a decision to switch to a recyclable variety of cardboard in shipments” which it sells to a recycler instead of paying to send it to a landfill