- Introduction
Corporate social responsibility according to the European Commission refers to “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society.” Since the beginning of 2000, corporations have come under close scrutiny by different segments of society. Corporate social responsibility has therefore evolved into a complex concept that plays a critical part in shaping the decisions that are made by corporations. In line with the renewed focus placed on corporate social responsibility, Walmart which is the largest retailer in the USA has put in place an elaborate corporate social responsibility program. This essay shall focus on the corporate social responsibility program initiated by Walmart, the challenges and the way forward.
- Profile
Walmart is not only the largest retailer in the United States of America but also in the world. It is also the largest employer in the United States of America. It was started in 1962 in Arkansas and was incorporated in 1969. It has operations in over 27 countries under 69 different banners. There are about 10,130 retail stores in the world which all share a common goal: saving people money so they can live better lives. In the year 2012, Walmart generated $443 billion. Walmart employs 2.2 million associates worldwide and offers its customers a wide array of groceries and general merchandise in all of its stores.
- Wal-Mart’s corporate social responsibility programs
In 2012, one of the tenets of the corporate social responsibility programs that was initiated by Wal mart revolved around clean energy. This tenet entailed running all the Wal mart stores in the USA and its distribution centers on renewable energy. This has been termed as ambitious given that running all the stores on renewable energy would be very expensive for Walmart. The program has successfully been implemented in Wal mart stores in Colorado and Louisiana. The stores in China and Canada have also followed suit and installed solar panels. It is estimated that the clean energy that is currently used by Wal mart is enough to fuel 78,000 American homes for a year. Walmart is currently ranked as second largest buyer of clean energy among the retailers in the United States of America.
Secondly, Wal mart has put in place measures that are geared towards the reduction of wastes. The store has been lauded for its efforts towards becoming a zero waste company. Currently, Wal Mart prevents 80% of its operational wastes out of landfills. The company has cut down the use of plastic bags by 35% since 2007. In 2012, the store had 100 stores in Japan that had managed to achieve 100% recycle status. The store has also been aggressive in promoting locally produced goods as evidenced by the fact that last year, the store doubled the number of locally produced goods that are stocked in its stores.
In spite the fact that the company rose to become the largest retailer in the United States of America by hauling produce in large trucks, the company is gradually changing this. As part of its corporate social responsibility programs, the store has acquired small farms in different parts of the country. The locally sources farm produced now accounts for 10% of the produce that is stocked in the US stores. In addition to that, the company has committed to sourcing $20 billion worth of goods from women’s groups in the United States of America. It has also contributed to various groups that advocate for women’s issues including Vital Voices.
Gender equality is also one of the issues that have been tackled by Walmart in its corporate social responsibility strategy. The company publishes a comprehensive report under the title “Global Responsibility Report” which covers three main categories: planet, people and profit. The company has an advisory committee on gender equality and diversity in the work charged with the duty of promoting equality in all leadership positions at the company. As a result of the constitution of this board and the implementation of the policies, the number of female officials and managers has risen from 23,873 in the year 2005 to 25,246 employees in 2010.
Walmart has twice been named as the largest cash contributor to charity by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The company was heralded by the quick response to the plight of the victims of hurricane Katrina in 2005. Wal mart already had 45 truckloads of supplies ready to be deployed even before the hurricane hit the mainland. The store also pledged more than $2 million in donations and gave merchandise for free in the evacuation areas. The company has also contributed to other causes over the years which include: eradication of hunger, literacy programs and local healthcare initiatives and children’s hospitals.
- Challenges
The implementation of the corporate social responsibility program by Walmart has had its fair share of challenges. To begin with, solar installation has been quite an expensive. It is predicted that in order to keep its profits up, the company might have to raise its prices by a certain margin in the future. This would be in contravention of its mission which has always been saving people money so that they live better lives.
The implementation of the gender equality policies at Wal mart continue in spite the fact that there is a lawsuit against the company that has been in court for about a decade. The case Walmart vs. Dukes et al is a case in which the company is charged with discriminating against its female employees especially in regard to managerial and official roles. The law suit is just among many others that have been brought against the company at state, local and national level. The negative publicity generated as a result of these lawsuits often negates the gains made by the company in promoting gender equality and diversity at the work place.
In addition to this, in spite touting itself as a company that saves its customers so that they can live better lives, the employees of the retailers have not benefitted from the company’s mission. Wal mart remains one of the most attractive employers in United States of America and provides jobs to thousands of Americans. One of the CSR goals is to promote diversity and gender equality at the work place. Wal mart therefore has a high number of employees who work for 32 hours in a week and only earn $8 per hour. This makes it impossible for most of them to actually even afford the products at Wal mart which are touted as lowly priced.
- Recommendations
In order to attain its goal of operating the US stores and the distribution centers using renewable energy, the company needs to focus on other forms of energy besides solar energy which is quite expensive particularly during the installation phase. This can be done through the use of biogas obtained from the farms that the company has been acquiring in order to boost the presence of local produce on its shelves. Biogas can be used as a substitute or to augment solar power in order to cut down the cost and therefore still keep the CSR strategy in line with the mission of the company.
The company can also institute effective local mechanisms to address disputes within the company in order to prevent disgruntled workers from instituting law suits against the company in the future. This would entail having local tribunals that sort out disputes in accordance with the company statutes and the laws of the country. The company can also improve the working conditions of its workers and provide them with subsidies in order to better their lives.
References
European Commission. (2011). A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility. n.c: European Commission .
Neff, J. (2005 ). Katrina brings out wal-mart's inner good guy. Advertising Age , 1-55.
Nolan, K. (2006 ). Giving: Promoting corporate citizenship. Retailing Today : 45 (12) , 44-48.
Torres, C. A., Garcia-French, M., Hordijk, R., & Kim Nguyen, L. O. (2012). Four Case Studies on Corporate Social Responsibility:Do Conflicts Affect a Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Policy? New York : Utretch Law Review .
Walmart. (2011, November 28). Walmart Global Responsibility Report. Retrieved February 14, 2013 , from Walmart Stores : http://walmartstores.com/Sustainability/7951.aspx>
