I found this article on the Wall Street Journal website regarding Wal-Mart and their "green efforts".
As you will read, although Wal-Mart has been touting that it is "going green" it still isn't there yet. They mention that their main motivation to drive out waste or better said "to make more money".
Do you find this suprising from the World's Largest Retailer who has been known to "squeeze" vendors to get more profit out of them? In your opinion, does it matter what the company's motivation is- profitability or making the world a better place- when it comes to corporate responsibility? Does it take something away from a company's corporate responsibility efforts when they mention that they are looking to increase profitability?
Here is the link to the article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120546648773336113.html
Here is a summary from the March 14th Wall Street Journal
Lee Scott Jr. announced at WSJ "ECO-nomics" conference that despite Wal-Mart's focus on going green that they are not there yet.
Mr Scott was questioned as to why if the company is going green that Wal-Mart's carbon emission footprint is growing. He said that the reason for this is because that in order for Wal-Mart to grow they must continue to use energy.
He then stated that "The impetus for the company in doing all this isn't just to please environmentalists, he said, but to save money."
Please post your thoughts
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6 comments:
To each his own. It is a responsibility, not a priority. They are a business first, and a charity second. As long as they are not overly wasteful, I have absolutely no problem with this idea. I try to conserve as much as I can in my own lifestyle and not be wasteful, but I would not impose that on anyone else. I would prefer they make both priority 1a and 1b, but thats not reasonable.
Wal-Mart takes a lot of heat in everyday life, I'm sure that their management has become overly stressed with the amount of groups lobbying against them. But, it's a business and the management knows that if they can please some of those lobbying against them a little, while increasing profit, than it will happen. This seams to make sense to me thought I don't entirely agree with it.
I believe that a company that large already has the power to "go green". why they havnt i dont know. I dont think that walmart is trying to go green anytime soon. They are all about the money and that is what business is all about. Until someone tells them to or the media starts to really let them have it i believe that they will take there time and maximize there profits until there time is due.
It is not that surprise that big companies use "Green" to get positive image and attraction. Some other companies ueses this index as a marketing. However, I think it is their responsibility anyway because even though it is going to take a long time, they said it anyway.
I do not find this to be surprising at all. Walmart is a big box store in which its employees work without benefits and they get paid minimum wage. Obviously, by that token they are concerned only with how their profits are going to rise and surpass other companies. I think being conscious about the environment is not something that is strongly valued. Walmart "going green" will not happen soon, just by judging from that comment. When a company worries just about profit that could deter away from values that uphold Corporate Social Responsibility.
I agree with "Sungjoong's" comment. I think many businesses make an attempt to use the slogan "going green" as an attempt to attract consumers and better their image. In reality we have to keep in mind that Wal-Mart like many other franchises, is a "business." Their main priority will always be to make money! Whether they attempt to save or bring in more sales, their main objective will always be to make a profit somehow. I would say this is "Refreshingly honest on Wal-Mart's part but none-the-less it is also irresponsible and can be viewed as selfish.
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