Wal-Mart Sustainability Efforts
Wal-Mart Inc. believes that environmental stewardship coupled with efficient business practices is the key to achieving success. According to Wal-Mart sustainability report 2012, the organization is focused towards achieving sustainability by realizing four key strategies (Wal-Mart, 2012). These strategies include solving challenges in business, strengthening the company’s culture, being a leader on social issues, and above all becoming a truly global company. These strategies are geared towards strengthening the company’s social responsibility and environmental goals, which are not only broad but also straightforward. Wal-Mart’s sustainability efforts are measured against particular goals, a wide range of issues, and the company’s commitment towards the realization of transparency (Wal-Mart, 2012).
Wal-Mart’s sustainability efforts include the following measures. First, Wal-Mart intends to reduce wastes by 80 per cent thereby helping in the reduction of Carbon Dioxide emissions. The organization’s zero-waste program enables the company to save millions of revenues through recycling and decreasing expenses incurred in operational wastes. Second, Wal-Mart’s promotes the consumption of local produce across all its stores. Third, the introduction of the Women Economic Empowerment Initiative helps the organization to source and support women-owned businesses. Fourth, Wal-Mart is a leading consumer of renewable energy because its on-site green power generators provide 1.1 billion kilowatt hours of energy every year. Fifth, the Company has also integrated the sustainability index into its business to help the organization in the assessment and improvement of its products. Sixth, Wal-Mart nurtures diversity and inclusion of different cultures thereby promoting equity in its employment programs. Finally yet important, Wal-Mart distributes products that are geared towards sustaining people and the environment (Wal-Mart, 2012).
There is no doubt that that Wal-Mart’s sustainability efforts would enable it to realize its long-term goals of 100% consumption of renewable energy, creating a zero waste program, and distributing sustainable products.
