I happen to have a couple of friends, which I meet with regularly, who work at Walmart and are in charge of their respective departments as assistant store managers. They are always speaking of the cost saving measures Walmart rolls out, as well as the social and environmental changes the company is trying to bring forth. I already had a good idea of the work that Walmart was doing with electric and hybrid delivery trucks, as well as many of the sustainability plans that the corporation laid out with their annual Global responsibility report. According to the Walmart website, “When Walmart set out on our sustainability journey 10 years ago, it was in an effort to improve our own operations, but we’ve learned that we can positively impact systems
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The company was able to bring together leaders of mega corporations in an effort to promote sustainability and innovation, and curb negative environmental impacts among other things. Walmart made a pledge to reduce carbon emissions a great deal from its shipping and delivery procedures. The expo also saw, “leading brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg’s and General Mills stepping forward and committing to action on fertilizer and recycling,” (Sturcken, 2014) the effects of which can be seen today in the “innovative ‘PlantBottle’, which is made of plastic derived from plant materials, specifically sugar cane”. (Goldman, …show more content…
While at the same time refusing to be responsible in several ways themselves. For example, “In California, Walmart has been using an initiative process to evade the requirements of the state’s Environmental Quality Act. By gathering signatures and submitting its development proposals as ballot initiatives, Walmart ensures they won’t be subject to the act. Under the initiative process, city governments must either approve the projects outright, with no conditions, or spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to hold a special election. Facing daunting budget problems, most cities just give in. Over the last two years, Walmart has used this technique to secure approval for at least seven new supercenters across the state.” (Mitchell, 202) All this while abandoning several buildings in other states and even building in some cases, on protected
The company was able to bring together leaders of mega corporations in an effort to promote sustainability and innovation, and curb negative environmental impacts among other things. Walmart made a pledge to reduce carbon emissions a great deal from its shipping and delivery procedures. The expo also saw, “leading brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg’s and General Mills stepping forward and committing to action on fertilizer and recycling,” (Sturcken, 2014) the effects of which can be seen today in the “innovative ‘PlantBottle’, which is made of plastic derived from plant materials, specifically sugar cane”. (Goldman, …show more content…
While at the same time refusing to be responsible in several ways themselves. For example, “In California, Walmart has been using an initiative process to evade the requirements of the state’s Environmental Quality Act. By gathering signatures and submitting its development proposals as ballot initiatives, Walmart ensures they won’t be subject to the act. Under the initiative process, city governments must either approve the projects outright, with no conditions, or spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to hold a special election. Facing daunting budget problems, most cities just give in. Over the last two years, Walmart has used this technique to secure approval for at least seven new supercenters across the state.” (Mitchell, 202) All this while abandoning several buildings in other states and even building in some cases, on protected