Walmart Sustainability Paper

When talking about sustainability numerous people associate it with just protecting the environment. Sustainability is far more than going green, but it is a principle that many companies have adopted and have worked persistently to improve over the last several years. Sustainability is defined as the ability to continue a behavior indeterminately, but it also includes improving human life overall. Sustainable development is broken down into three pillars: economic, social, and environmental (Harich & Bangerter, 2014). Economics is the study of how people use resources, which correlates to the goal of sustainable development by using resources to their full potential (Laszlo, C., & Zhexembayeva, N., 2011, p. 60). Economic sustainable development allows companies to give their customers what they want without overusing mutual resources. Social development combines the social world with the physical realm to provide a good quality of life (Benoit, 2010, p. 7). Social sustainability focuses on the well-being of people and their communities. Environmental development, the most recognizable, includes protecting the environment by reducing pollution, recycling, switching of electronic devices when not in use, etc. All three of these pillars make up what is known as sustainable development. In this paper, I researched a company and their involvement in sustainability and how it applies to the

Although there is no formal definition for the term, individuals have tried to define sustainability according to their function or area of study. The term “sustainability,” once an obscure ecological concept, has now been adopted by many in the business world to connote the principles of social and environmental responsibility (Joseph Fiksel, Jonathan Low and Jim Thomas). Further, sustainability can be seen through the eyes of business as a way to create value. More likely than not, the term sustainability can be linked to the ability of decreasing costs, wastes and inefficiencies. According to the vice president of General Electric,

Sustainability from a strategic business perspective is the potential for the long-term well-being of the natural environment, including all biological entities, as mutually beneficial interactions among nature and individuals, organizations, and business strategies. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). Business sustainably is often defined as managing the triple bottom line – a process by which companies manage their financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities. These three impacts are sometimes referred to as profits, people and planet. (Business sustainability definition from financial times lexicon, no date). This essay will discuss the idea of sustainability being an important element within a businesses and its core strategies and the importance of it within different businesses. Secondly, this study will look at how different stakeholders are affected and influenced by sustainability as this could be seen as a catalyst to improving the environment as a whole and. Then this study will look at how businesses not focusing

The environment is among some of the top issues to be looked upon by the human population in the world today. Sustainability is a word often times used when speaking of this subject. This is a concept represented in the articles “Sustainability” by Christian R. Weisser and “Attention Whole Foods Shoppers” by Robert Paarlberg. Each author addresses the issue in different ways; one giving examples of this issue and the other clearly defining it. Each author is writing to spread awareness of this issue. As overlapping topics, each article has similarities and differences to the other.

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.

It is said that “The only social responsibility that there is, is to obey laws and pay taxes,” but according to Milton Friedman, “social responsibility is to increase profits.” This kind of responsibility also a form of giving back. Many people believe that the future of Wal-Mart is sustainability. Wal-Mart Stakeholders are the associates, otherwise known as employees, the suppliers, and the investors of this company. I believe that Wal-Mart is doing enough to become more sustainable both locally and globally by the resources, its key stakeholders.

In contrast, many people and organizations have argued that Walmart is not holding true to their original sustainable commitments. According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Walmart's greenhouse gas emissions have continued to grow over the last 10 years, and it’s percentage of renewable energy is inadequate compared to other major corporations. Stacy Mitchell, the author of the report and a senior researcher at the Institute believes that the core issue behind Walmart’s lack of action is that they will not change their unsustainable business model to make sustainable advancements. She says that, "Walmart has a highly unsustainable business model, built on shipping goods long distances, selling mountains of very short-lived products,

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.

Walmart could improve their stores in several ways but “Walmart has committed to use their strengths to help others by addressing social and environmental issues in collaboration with customers, suppliers, governments, non-profits and other stakeholders.” (Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart foundation and sniper vise president of corporate affairs at Walmart). “We believe business exists to serve society. Our commitment to global responsibility goes beyond philanthropy- it is a whole company undertaking that is women into our day-to-day business activities, creating value for business and society” (Kathleen McLaughlin).

Wal-Marts recent sustainability will make a change in stakeholder orientation if they continue to follow through on their promise they made in 2005 - “CEO Lee Scott set three aspirational sustainability goals for Walmart: to create zero waste, operate with 100 percent renewable energy and sell products "that sustain resources and the environment” (Makower, 2016). If you go to walmart.com and search sustainability, they are advertising exactly what the CEO has stated. This will hopefully help lower their costs’ in other ways besides having their suppliers lower their costs’ to keep Wal-Mart as a buyer. This is most ethical thing to do for the stakeholders, which in turn will help build a better reputation for the company.

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.

Walmart launched a massive business sustainability strategy in October 2005. The initiative strived to reduce the company 's impact on the global environment. In a speech broadcasted to the entire company worldwide, Walmart 's president and CEO Lee Scott pleaded that, "being a good steward of the environment and being profitable are not mutually exclusive. They are one and the same"(pg. 1). He also identified three goals: to be supplied by 100% renewable energy, zero waste and sell products that uphold the environment. It was clear that sustainability in the 21st century was not only for environmental purposes, but also for doing good business.

Sustainability implies that the organization is managing in economic, ecological and socially competent ways. All organizations range on a continuum of their sustainability level with some being more sustainable than others. Generally, as Dunphy, Griffiths and Benn (Module One, Topic 1.5) point out, the more sustainable an organization is, the more they help the surrounding environment, be this local (the particular country) or macro (the world itself). The environment also reflects the sustainability ethos and situation of the organization itself.

Wal-Mart is a truly global corporation that runs chains of large discount department and warehouse stores across the globe. Wal-Mart is designated by Forbes as the world's 18th largest corporation; Wal-Mart is also the world's biggest private employer in the world, boasting over 2 million employees, making it the world's largest private retailer (Faber, 2012). Wal-Mart emphasizes that its vision is simply saving people money so they can live better, and Wal-Mart leaders have made it their mission to embed this vision in into all aspects of the business. Wal-Mart's business model was developed in a manner that respects customers, shareholders, associates and communities around the world. Its stated philosophy and overall business strategy relies on a simple idea created by founder Sam Walton: offer shoppers lower prices than they can get anywhere else, and it is this basic strategy that has shaped Wal-Mart's culture and driven the company's growth to its position of power within the world market (Walmart Corporate, 2012). Yet Wal-Mart has come under intense criticism for some of their operating practices in regards to their employees and their environmental record. This paper will analyze Wal-Mart's performance over the last couple of years.

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: