Sustainability Initiatives A Demonstration Of Corporate Social Responsibility And Should Corporations Be Financially Responsible For The Environmental Disturbances

As we have seen an increase in awareness around sustainability and climate change, with the help of Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth documentary in 2006, we see organizations moving towards mitigating the effects of climate change in various ways (Al Gore, n.d). As this corporate social responsibility has become more prevalent, organizations are now pushing their green agenda by publishing sustainability reports, doing mass marketing and implementing sustainable business practices to portray the image that they too are working towards protecting the earth’s natural environment all the while focusing on their underlying goal of selling their products and

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:

There are many environmental forces that can affect an organizations. One particular organization that has been affected by these environmental forces is Walmart. Some organizations such as Walmart believe in saving people money so they can live better. Walmart first store open in 1962 in Arkansas and now fifty three years later operates all over the world, deals with over 245 million customers, has 11,000 stores in 28 countries, and employee’s 2.2 million employees worldwide. Walmart believes in being innovative and demonstrate leadership through the service they offer customers and communities. Walmart is best known for their low prices and is considered by most the one stop shopping experience. In the following paragraphs we will look

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

Wal-Mart should project a community friendly, environment caring and employee welfare seeking brand image to combat. Emerging threats. Investment in sustainability initiatives like solar energy and recycling could be possible opportunities.

Walmart needs to improve this world an even place for individuals. There three fundamental goal-oriented objectives to change Walmart's overall ecological foot shaped impression: 100% renewable energy supplied, make a zero waste, offer items that maintain the world's assets and environment. As per Walmart, without development, expanded interest for structures, products and administrations will strain normal assets, increment squander and lift outflows. These variables contrarily affect our air and water quality, which harms biological communities, jeopardizes our sustenance supply and builds potential for extreme climate fiascos, dry season and starvation. Walmart is planning to decouple business development from ecological effect. By moving

Wal-Mart also has a green goal. It claims that their environmental goal is to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy, to create zero waste and to sell products that sustain our natural resources and the environment(Wal-Mart website 2008).

Walmart is looking to go for sustainability in their everyday activities. They are striving to operate by utilizing renewable energy, to bring down the level of wastes in their global operations and sell sustainable products. They are also taking steps to counter climatic changes. They are also ensuring that the safety and wellbeing of their workers are considered in their supply chain. They are looking to improve recycling through education and infrastructure improvement.

I shop there all the time and I am familiar with the employees and the pros and cons of the business. Sustainability most certainly needs improvement in every store, Walmart for sure.

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.

Perhaps this is giving Walmart a free ride in the media/marketing as being sustainable without any parties doing their due diligence to verify the actual numbers. As Senge explained, perhaps “Walmart is using going green to offset negative press for treatment of its employees” due their recent lawsuit losses and settlements (Senge, 2010, p. 114). Although Walmart should be commended for its sustainability portfolio, I believe the results of their goals need to be looked at from proportional aspect as well as how/where Walmart sources their products.

Although Wal-Mart has taken adaptive measures to sustain their energy sources by using green power generators it still lags behind companies such as Whole Foods.

Wal-Mart now has to rebuild their images, procedures on how they conduct business nationwide and how the use ethical business practices. The New York time article reported, “Wal-Mart announces new ethical and environmental principles complete by 2012”. (Robinson, 2008)

Walmart is the world’s largest retailer with more than 8,400 stores globally and is now considering going green. Walmart moves massive amounts of products and uses a lot of other resources to operate its business and now they are trying to transform itself into a company that is seen as environmental friendly.

Walmart 's 2011 Global Responsibility Report, published last week, makes clear that despite the recession and some recently rough going for the company -- lately its stock has lagged the S&P500 -- Walmart is pushing ahead towards its big goals: To generate no waste, to be 100 percent-powered by renewable energy and to sell lots more products that sustain people and the environment.