So often today, sustainability and profit go hand in hand. To achieve this bragging right and marketing tool, companies spend millions on understanding the public’s demand and research into creating profitable sustainable products. Of course, as one of the biggest companies today, Wal-Mart is no exception. This week, Wal-Mart released its annual Global Responsibility Report, outlining the company’s sustainability goals and progress. According to the report, this year, Wal-Mart has incorporated more locally grown organic produce on its shelves, cut energy consumption, and most importantly, reduced generated waste by 80%! Of course, Wal-Mart has a long way to go, and for many economic and logistical reasons, moving forward is a long and difficult process.
Instead of congratulating Wal-Mart on their efforts, the article takes a negative spin on the issue, and I can understand why. First, I found it somewhat ironic that a company whose entire sales strategy lies in the production of cheap, easily disposable products tries to sell themselves as green. When I think of Wal-Mart products, sustainable doesn’t really seem to fit. While I am not an expert on Wal-Mart production practices, I can infer that such mass production isn’t the best for our planet. While they strive to present themselves as profitable, they face many challenges, one of the greatest of which is how to collect and release information about their products to the public. But maybe that is why it is so important that Wal-Mart commits to these sustainable practices. Isn’t there great value in reforming the companies that most need it? Do you think Wal-Mart just trying to jump on the green bandwagon, or are they truly concerned with sustainable practices? And most importantly, how far will Wal-Mart go to achieve its goals? I would meet the idea that Wal-Mart would sacrifice profit in this venture with great skepticism.
I think this is a really interesting topic and one that I’ve felt divided on for awhile. The optimist in me wants to think that something is better than nothing. I’d like to think that Walmart jumping on the “green” bandwagon, even if it is not for the right reasons, is still somewhat helpful. However the realist in me knows that this is not enough. In reality, I think mega store chains are contributing to the problem more than they will ever contribute to the solution. So although something is better than nothing, I think the support of chains like Walmart is unreliable. If they are only thinking of the bottom line, then they can jump off the bandwagon just as quickly as they got on it. The commitments we must make in order to change cultural norms that are unsustainable will not be easy to make, nor will they be cheap. Walmart makes its money off of providing inexpensive, mass-produced goods which in many cases is at odds with the core concepts of sustainability. Ideally, food production and distribution would be localized so that organic foods are no longer seen as the healthy luxury item, but a normal part of our everyday food culture. This would not only make our nation healthier, but cut down on the costs of shipping foods thousands of miles (using massive amounts of energy) to get the food from the farm to your plate. That being said, I don’t think this revolution is going to occur any time soon and it comes with its fair share of strategic problems, so is this pseudo-sustainability from Walmart the best we can do? I am still divided on the issue. Congratulating Walmart feels like settling, but I’m just not sure what else our society is capable of at the moment, especially on such a large scale.
ReplyDeleteI am also skeptical to give Walmart praise for their efforts, considering their core business plan is to provide cheap, mass produced goods. While reducing waste and energy in the stores is great, when considering their whole supply chain, which spans the entire globe, the picture is not so sustainable. Furthermore, I am already wary to shop at Walmart due to issues they've had with labor unions and driving smaller, local stores out of business. As Vulpes mentioned, local companies would obviously be more sustainable. And looking at their company from the view of environmental justice, the workers that are exploited or denied union rights, not just in the stores, but the supply chains as well, do not make me very confident that Walmart is really considering more than the bottom line with these initiatives.
ReplyDeleteBeing wary of greenwashing, I do think some good could come out of Walmart's publicizing its green behavior. As a large company, it can help motivate other companies to also adopt more sustainable practices and help foster consumer demand for them by educating the millions of people that visit a Walmart each day. Obviously Walmart isn't going to go out of business or give more room for mom and pop shops anytime soon, so we might as well take advantage of what they are doing with their large influence. I think this also gives environmental groups a good platform to encourage the company to do more. Like great, you've demonstrated your commitment to sustainability, so how about taking this next step?
I grew up in a very small town. To give you an idea of how small, I'll tell you that the nearest Target was an hour and a half away and so was the closest mall. However, we did have a Walmart - and that was the biggest store in town. Thus, I have to take a decidedly different position on this issue.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, I did not have the option to shop at different retail stores. I couldn't "take my business elsewhere" to support greener, local stores (at least when buying general supplies). Therefore, when I learned that Walmart released their global sustainability report, I felt this was certainly a step in the right direction. While I admit this is a case of a large company jumping on the green bandwagon, at least it is something. Since there are not any competitors of Walmart at home, I'd rather have Walmart implement greener measures than do nothing at all. Supporting green companies was not a luxury I could partake in. I think it is important to realize that there are cities without anything other than Walmart and families that cannot afford to shop anywhere else.
This brings to mind situations discussed in class readings where environmental issues belonged to the white and wealthy. For poorer communities utilizing the land in ways that sustained their livelihoods, individuals couldn't afford to think about their environment as anything other than a source of income. But wealthier parties condemned their practices (like slash and burn agriculture) and forced their concepts about the environment on others. Be wary of condemning Walmart's efforts just because they do not coincide completely with your views of a properly greened company.
This issue has been a tough one for me to decide where my opinion lies as well. I agree that some sustainability effort is better than nothing, but Walmart still has a long way to go. It takes a lot of work to be a truly good company inside and out. From the products you offer, to the way you treat your workers, to how you deal with your suppliers. Walmart was established when the world considered a "good" company to be one that made its customers happy and also made a profit. Nowadays, our definition of a "good" company is much, much broader. We're not just looking at a company's economic bottom line, we are also looking at their social and environmental bottom line as well. Walmart may need a lot of improvement for their social efforts in terms of their treatment of workers and ruthlessness of putting mom and pop stores out of business, but they are on the right track environmentally. One important thing that Walmart has that other stores don't is their size and their brand name. Walmart has the power to influence other businesses. These could be similar businesses that want to emulate Walmart's size and profitability, and they could also be suppliers to Walmart. Walmart is demanding that to see how their suppliers operate and also demand that they join in the effort to become more environmentally sustainable.
ReplyDeleteFor now, I remain on the fence. But, I look forward to seeing Walmart's continued efforts in sustainability.
I am inclined to agree with The Domer- I think this is a step in the right direction for Walmart. We live in an era where we expect convenience above everything. This is why in cities, a Starbucks can exist on both sides of the same street. People don't like waiting for anything. They like their products immediately and they like them to be consistent. Stores like Walmart are so successful because they are convenience and consistency under one roof. Walmart can afford to be whatever kind of company it likes; the fact that it is now attempting to be environmentally conscious in some small ways means that the corporation has finally noticed how much people care about environmental practices.
ReplyDeleteI'm not naive enough to believe that Walmart did this out of the goodness of its corporate heart. It seems clear to me that it did this in response to public demand. If people demand greener products and greener practices, eventually they will be forced to deliver. This shows that people are starting to be less and less complacent with environmentally harmful practices. It isn't the domain of the Whole Foods shopper any more, the person who can afford to buy the organic food and the sustainable clothes. This is a slow move towards environmentalism by a much larger group of people and demonstrates the mentality that is going to be needed when addressing things like climate change and energy crises.
Very thought-provoking post and comments.
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