Scott Glee

Wal-Mart CEO outlines lofty green goals

Posted at 1:44 PM on 24 Jan 2008

Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott made a big ol' speech yesterday spelling out ambitious social, health, and environmental goals for the retail behemoth. Wal-Mart will work with other retailers to boost industry-wide green standards, said Scott, and, within five years, Wal-Mart suppliers will be required to meet stringent environmental standards -- and may even be paid more to do so. The company wants to double its sales of merchandise that help consumers improve home energy efficiency, is in talks with automakers about selling electric or hybrid cars, and could even set up windmills or solar panels in its parking lots to allow customers to recharge with renewable energy. "It's a good vision," says Gwen Ruta of green group Environmental Defense. "Now we need to make it a reality." To an extent, Wal-Mart already has: It's been aggressively pushing green goals since 2005, has strived to open energy-efficient stores, and has to date sold 145 million compact fluorescent light bulbs.

sources: The Washington Post, The New York Times, BusinessWeek
see also, in Gristmill: Wal-Mart CEO lays out ambitious social and environmental goals for his company

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Comments: (6 comments)

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double its sales - says it all

double its sales - says it all!

Erm,, sorry i don't think Wal-Mart ceo's really care about the environment. - If they did there would have been a lot more done a lot sooner. versus now.

They are only doing this to increase their profit.

I know I should not be so cynical, but I really do not see enough positive actions.

by javaearth at 3:17 PM on 24 Jan 2008

re: javaearth

You're partly right and partly wrong. As easy as it is to see them as such, corporations are not monolithic. I promise you, there are people on Wal-Mart's board of directors who honestly care about the environment, and people who don't care, but believe this will make them money, and people who think the entire thing is stupid and wish the others would get off it. (And there are probably also people who are somewhere in between those, and people with perspectives I haven't considered. 'Cause they're people.)

Right now, the first two groups are winning. We need to give them as much encouragement as we can, to make sure they keep winning. Wal-Mart has the power to do a lot of good with this--and yes, by "good," I mean "reducing the harm that they do." Doesn't matter; reduced emissions are reduced emissions.

And for the ones who do just think helping the environment will increase their profits? For the sake of the world we live in, you'd damn well better hope they're right.

by Pathos at 2:03 AM on 25 Jan 2008

Greed is Good

Some of you are missing the main point here:

There isn't time to get religion to all of business and society. Most will become green because of free market competition influences, especially after CO2 regulation comes down the pipe.

Its a GIFT that profits can be made during the great energy transition. It brings huge and fast movers into the effort that wouldnt otherwise be there.

Wal-Mart can move mountains in society. Grist.org cannot.

Imagine solar panels in the bargin bins at the check-out line and people who are only concerned about saving on their electric bill encountering them in every town in America.

PLEASE let the profit seekers do there thing, because this time, many are headed in our direction.

I promise the slow altruistic train you and I are on will continue to move forward as well.

-Christopher

by christophersj at 9:02 AM on 25 Jan 2008

Money!

Money is not evil. It is simply the currency we all agree on for goods and services. Those goods and services can be literally anything people can imagine.

Why on earth would we want to be negative about Wal-Mart's attempts to take advantage of a "green" market? I think it's great that they can make money off of more responsible products! This will encourage more average joe's to consider buying them and continue to strengthen the market for these kinds of things!

Personally I think that looking for the govt. to change the minds of people for them is (and has always been) impossible. It doesn't work that way. People always have to change their minds and habits first and then the pols codify what everyone already thinks.

Further, politicians and the businesses that fund them have always followed the money. If businesses can make a killing being "green" then they will and they'll support politicians that promise to help them make more "green" money.

If you continue to do what you've always done you'll continue to get what you've always got. - Yogi Berra

by Matt at 9:13 AM on 25 Jan 2008

Right, but

Matt said,
"Personally I think that looking for the govt. to change the minds of people for them is (and has always been) impossible. It doesn't work that way"

Right, but they can create a new playing field for businesses to compete within. CO2 caps and carbon taxes create competition to be greener without the government telling people or businesses exactly how to do it.

by christophersj at 9:33 AM on 25 Jan 2008

yeah,right!

Walmart talks the talk,but that is as far they that corporate comglomerate goes.
Where as it is true that more people going and demanding greener products and ways of doing business can have an influence business only keeps going forward if pushed.If they can find a way around,over,or through a difficult time they will use any of those means.Lieing and subtrafuge are tools that they use.Big business is bad and that has been and always will be the bottom line.

Why not ask why!?

by usandthem at 1:11 PM on 25 Jan 2008

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