SWOT Analysis of Walmart's Sustainability

A resource based view can help determine, and maintain a competitive advantage for Wal-Mart. In order to gain a clear understanding of their advantage, or lack thereof, it is vital that Wal-Mart determine what resources they have available to them. Once these resources are identified they must capitalize on them, and ensure that they provide them with a sustained advantage, and not a temporary advantage. For instance, Wal-Mart might find that there is a manufacturer that is not being used to their full potential, and is able to provide them with fast production and quick delivery of items for a great price. It would be beneficial for Wal-Mart to take advantage of this opportunity, as well as build a long lasting relationship with this manufacturer that will carry them both into the future.

Conducting business today is extremely energy-intensive, which has led to the depletion of our natural resources and degradation of the environment. My goal is to become a Sustainability Manager for a retail or consumer goods company whose sustainability goals are aligned with mine, such as Ikea or Nike. In the long-term, I hope to move up within the organization and become the Head of Sustainability.

Wal-Mart uses its resources in research since before (2011-2012) for the sole purpose of coming up with new ideas and new ways to sustain itself in the local and global community. Locally it provides electricity in stores from solar panels and wind turbines. “Wal-Mart has taken strides to obtain its sustainability objectives. It has opened two environmentally friendly stores in McKinney, Texas, and Aurora, Colorado.” The company hopes that these experiments will conserve natural resources, save energy, and reduce pollution. In addition, Wal-Mart is attempting to reduce fossil fuel. Its fleet of hybrid trucks is a new technology for going “green (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2011).” Similarly, Wal-Mart is “Currently working on four main green areas: waste improvement and recycling, natural resources, energy, and social/community impact. Wal-Mart’s long-term goals are to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, create zero

Our company analysis focuses on the Kohl’s corporation, which tailors to customers needs in apparel, shoes and home décor. Kohl’s entertain the idea of their slogan by saying “expect great things”, they set high standards in the business world from an economical stand point as the maintain almost 20 billion dollars in revenue and from a sustainability stand point as they have achieved numerous goals since the 2000’s. Kohl’s is a great company with many department stores located throughout the United States and in Massachusetts. There is one less than a mile away from Merrimack College that has a huge collection of apparel, shoes and home décor.

Wal-Mart stores serve millions of customers globally each day – and they do their best to make certain that the products on their shelves are a sign of the diverse needs and wants of their customers. Wal-Mart states they are focused on four strategies and the top one is becoming truly global. (Wal-Mart Stores Factsheets). In 2010, Wal-Mart reduced the plastic bag waste across their global operations by 47.95 million pounds, or approximately 3.5 billion bags. This represents a 21 percent reduction from our 2007 baseline. In Chine in 2010 reduced the waste by 84percent using 2007 as a baseline. Wal-Mart wants to stay on top globally where economics

Another problem that Wal-Mart faces is one shared by all people. There is a concern for the environmental well-being of the Earth. There is much press about corporations that have violated safe environmental practices. Their “receipt, transportation, handling, identification, recycling, treatment, storage and disposal” of hazardous material has been under scrutiny. Also their greatest associated environmental concern is urban sprawl. They have counteracted these problems by trying to become a greener company. They are working to reduce greenhouse

One of the major shortcomings of the report is that some of Walmart statements regarding its CSR and sustainability activities differs greatly from what some outside advocacy groups and activists are saying about the company’s CSR efforts. The Food Chain Workers Alliance on June 4th , 2015 published a 120 page report about Walmart called “Walmart at the Crossroads, the Environmental and Labor Impact of Its Food Supply” where it questions a lot of Walmart’s practices. The Food Chain Workers Alliance is an advocacy group with more than 300,000 members who work in all-different stages of the food chain from the farm to the restaurant. Its goal is to develop a more sustainable food system while at the same time fight for the rights of workers.

Wal-Mart’s sheer size gives it unrestrained economic power which allows it to drive down costs in the retail and manufacturing sectors and to enact its own standards with regards to its work force.

Wal-Mart is the world's largest retail and departmental store chain. Having business operations in 27 countries with 69 different brand names, Wal-Mart is able to serve a huge number of customers per day. Wal-Mart is the fastest growing and the most successful retail brand in the world. The factors which make it the strongest brand in its industry include large customer base, sound financial strength, strong brand image, and huge supply chain network. Wal-Mart has certain weaknesses in its operations and business setup like low acceptability of certain products, high employee turnover, and less recognition of newly introduced brands. These weaknesses can be overcome by availing attractive opportunities from the market and investing more in the most profitable areas. Wal-Mart faces the biggest threat from its competitors and ever-changing customer preferences.

Sustainability has become a great topic of interest in many arenas. Particularly, leading organizations are recognizing sustainability needs to be an essential aspect of their long term strategies. With this recognition, better business practices are being sought by investors as well as sustainability is becoming a driving force for better efficiencies and innovation. Two organizations, Wal-Mart and Starbucks, have both took on sustainability as long term initiatives to address their customer needs and affect how their suppliers operate.

Due to increasing environmental imbalances, it is necessary for firms to achieve competitive advantages in the area of environmental convergence as well. Wal-Mart is putting continuous efforts from a long time for environment sustainability and energy conservation. It also received Aspen Institute Energy and Environment award for Corporate Energy Efficiency in 2009. Here are a few steps that Wal-Mart has taken to encourage environmental sustainability:

Mission: Wal-Mart is an American – based discount retailing store that implements that lower prices will result in higher sales volume, so to continue to provide customers with quality goods at everyday low prices will keep our customers satisfied and coming back.

Founder Sam Walton explains that, "If we work together, we'll lower the cost of living for everyone"¦we'll give the world an opportunity to see what it's like to save and have a better life." This formed the basis for the new Wal-Mart slogan (which also sums up its mission statement) launched in 2007, "We save people money so they can live better". The business model of the company is also based on the aforementioned slogan. Thus, most strategies are based on cost cutting through-out the supply-chain to reduce prices on

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. helps individuals around the globe spare cash and live better - at whatever time and anyplace - in retail locations, online and through their cell phones. Every week, more than 245 million clients and individuals visit our almost 11,000 stores under 65 flags in 28 nations and e-trade sites in 11 nations. With financial year 2015 net offers of $482.2 billion, Wal-Mart utilizes 2.2 million partners around the world. (Wal-Mart Corporate) Wal-Mart is a superpower in the business world and has been that way for 50+ years. Understanding how it got to this point and how it has maintained its successful business model starts with its

With every company there come strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and Wal-mart is no exception. Wal-mart sits at the number one spot when it comes to retail businesses but they have had many issues; in particular labor law violations because they did not allow their employees to take required lunch and meal breaks.