Wal-Mart saves the world?

[Pinkerton]

Well, maybe not, but at least they are making positive changes...

http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/04/12/griscom-little/index.html?source=friend

[janie]

I will be upset if this gets moved to the Compost Heap.

Here is a Fortune article on Walmart's environmental efforts: http://walmartstores.com/Files/WM_Fortune_GreenMachine.pdf

Info on Acres for America: http://www.walmartfacts.com/articles/2259.aspx

[jeezycreezy]

Key quote: "It is clearly good for our business."

[janie]

Key quote: "It is clearly good for our business."
It would've been nice if you included the previous question, and the entire answer, for context. :)


Q:Tell us what motivated you to set those goals.

A: 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. We recognized that Wal-Mart had such a footprint in this world, and that we had a corresponding part to play in sustainability.


On a personal level, as you become a grandparent -- I have a granddaughter -- you just also become more thoughtful about what will the world look like that she inherits. So I think it was a confluence of both the personal side and the business imperatives that at least drew me to be interested in it.

...

A: As I got exposed to the opportunities we had to reduce our impact, it became even more exciting than I had originally thought: It is clearly good for our business. We are taking costs out and finding we are doing things we just do not need to do, whether it be in packaging, or energy usage, or the kind of equipment we buy for refrigeration in our stores, that there are a number of decisions we can make that are great for sustainability and great for bottom-line profit.

[jeezycreezy]

It would've been nice if you included the previous question, and the entire answer, for context. :)

Many apologies oh ye lovers of Wal-Mart. :)

I assumed everyone who read the comments in this thread would have also read the article that spawned them and thus would have known the context from whence my little excerpt came. I apologize for my economy of language. :)

What Wal-Mart are doing is a good thing to be sure...but would they do it if it meant a financial loss?

That is the question.

Personally I am inclined to tempter my enthusiasm for their environmental efforts with a deep amount of cynicism. That's just how I roll.

I'm the sort of person who seriously questions the motives of any corporation who does something positive and touts it loudly, but which is unavailable for comment when, say, the issue of employee wages crops up.

But that is not relevant.

And I'm not trying to pick a fight (seriously, count the smileys!) or get this thread thrown into the compost heap.

This is a thread to laud Wal-Marts environmental efforts and so I say:

Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart, yaaaaaaaaaaaay Wal-Mart!!!!!! :)

You're doing something right. I'm sure you'll get around to the rest later. ;)

I will now leave the discussion. I apologize for the interruption.

Peace.

Cheers!
TJ

[janie]

:lol: :lovesign:


What Wal-Mart are doing is a good thing to be sure...but would they do it if it meant a financial loss?

That is the question.

Probably not. :lol:

[Fyvel]

I'm the sort of person who seriously questions the motives of any corporation who does something positive and touts it loudly, but which is unavailable for comment when, say, the issue of employee wages crops up.


I apologize in advance for my lack of actual statistics.. but I remember hearing once about a tobacco company who donated a relatively small sum ($125k, perhaps?) to a charity. They then proceeded to spend millions telling everyone what they had done.

So no, Wal Mart wouldn't do it if it weren't good for business. But I am glad it *is* good for their business, because it is a good thing. Maybe others will follow suit. :up: