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."
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6 comments:
Wal-mart being the world's largest retailer should be setting much more example than that. Acting socially responsible doesn't mean just making profit but also taking the society's interest at heart (the well being of others, especially its stakeholders). It's just odd to know that they are brazen to say what they say, or it could also be looked at as being honest too. In essence, most companies' real reason in doing business is to make a profit.
As it relates to corporate social responsibility, a company should be acting in accordance with making profit and at the same time trying to make the world a better place. When they made mention that they must continue to use energy, there are ways to find other means of "green" energy such as utilising bio-energy, that's no excuse. Trying to please environmentalists is not good enough, Wal-mart should be setting greater example than that. Making such statement about not only to please environmentalist...only shows that most companies think about their profits as foremost. If customers do not shop at Wal-mart (making them the "giant" retailer), then their will be no way of staying in business, therefore, Wal-mart should take greater interest in giving back to its customers in some way or the other (environmentally or charity, etc.).
I am shocked and appalled that Wal-Mart is not driven by pure altruism. By "shocked and appalled," of course, I mean the opposite of that. I wouldn't be surprised if Wal-Mart had a division dedicated to punting puppies and punching babies, if they thought it'd by profitable.
I can't read the article, since I'm not a subscriber, but I think that Wal-Mart serves as a barometer for the overall corporate mindset. Wal-Mart wears its evil proudly, and it says what most corporations are merely thinking (which is why I actually find myself a bit sympathetic to Wal-Mart, actually). Right now, it's simply paying lip-service to the new hot credo of "going green."
When Wal-Mart truly does go green, either due to the demands of the public being high enough or, most ideally, because it's most profitable to go green, that will be a very good indication that the majority of corporations are or will soon be doing the same thing.
Stating that they are tryingt to make a profit out of going green does take away from the sanctaty of going green. The purpose of it is because we want to help the planet. While it does not soound right for Wal-Mart to say that we have to remember, they are a business and that is the purpose of a business, to make a profit. I guess that if in the process of making a profit they happen to find a way to do it while helping the enviroment that would be great but I would say they are not doing it because they are being socially responsible but because they are trying to follow a trend and do not want to lose business for not doing it.
It shouldn't matter that a company's goal is to make money because that is every company's goal. Nobody goes into business to lose money. That being said companies also shouldn't claim they are going green and then turn around and say oh sorry we can't because we need the energy to grow. Wal-mart has plenty of resources at its disposal to find ways to increase profit and low its carbon emissions at the same time. There is nothing honest about saying they can't lower their emissions and continue to grow because that is taking the easy way out. If they would devote even a little bit of time working on lowering emissions I am positive they could find a way to do that while increasing profits.
In my opinion, talking all the time about “going green” and that new companies start follow that step is reckless and that comment should be think again. Right now ,when every time we heard about Global Warming and reducing carbons’ pollution every companies have to do something to looks like ally against Global Warming. Those companies as for example Wal- Mart published information that they fight with carbon’s emotions. By that they want to look better in customers’ view. But for example Wal –Mart, the world's largest public Corporation, should reduce his carbons’ emissions but because of situation that Wal- Mart is getting bigger still its need a more energy and comments abort fighting with global warming are a empty comments without any supported. In addition ,any carobn’ limit used by government to reduce pollution have to be match correctly to every companies, because in situation when limit will be to low it can reduce a producing in company and in results reduce a profit. In sum, I think that is nothing wrong when companies are looking to increase their profit.In World where the most powerful is money, every companies take care more about that than others thing for example environment. But still those companies should do much as they can for environment because to get a profit is never to late but if we will lose natural environment we would not get it beck.
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