Environmental Groups Raise Questions on What’s Missing from Walmart’s Global Responsibility Report

Posted on April 18, 2012 by jway

Walmart released its annual Global Responsibility Report earlier this week. As environmental groups begin to respond to the company’s claims, many are questioning Walmart’s attempt to roll out a shiny new image of an eco-friendly Walmart. In terms of sustainability, it appears that the big news may not be what is in the report, but instead what was left out.

Today the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) and Food and Water Watch released a ten point list detailing how despite all the green talk, Walmart fails in practice. According to the organizations’ report, Top Ten Ways Walmart Fails on Sustainability, “While Walmart’s sustainability campaign has done wonders for its public image, it has done little for the environment. In fact, Walmart’s environmental impact has only grown over the last seven years.”

A snap shot of the list is featured below, but the full report can be read here.

Top 10 Ways Walmart Fails on Sustainability:

  1. Selling Shoddy Products – poorly made products lead to major waste
  2. Reducing Waste According to Who? – waste reduction measurements don’t take all waste into account
  3. Lagging on Renewable Energy – despite big talk, in 2011 Walmart still derived less than 4% of its electricity from renewable sources
  4. Increasing Greenhouse Gases – from 2005 to 2010, Walmart’s greenhouse gas emissions grew by 14%
  5. Voraciously Consuming Land – the company’s frantic expansion has devoured valuable habitat and led to increased pollution
  6. Financing Anti-Environment Candidates – since 2005, almost 60% of Walmart’s political contributions have gone to anti-environment politicians
  7. Consolidating & Industrializing Food Production – Walmart uses its power to “usher in a larger-scale, more industrialized food system
  8. Redefining Local – local food production is across all stores, meaning major agricultural states skew the numbers for other states without local sourcing
  9. Degrading Organic – Walmart’s version of organic still includes factory farming
  10. Spreading Poverty – poverty is a major factor in poor nutrition, and Walmart increases those earning poverty-level wages

“Some of the most serious environmental consequences of Walmart’s business model simply aren’t on the table,” said Stacy Mitchell of ILSR. “Walmart doesn’t talk about them and, despite expending a lot of ink and airtime on the company’s green activities, the news media don’t either.”

Comments

  • B Amy26

    To whom it concerns:
      
    I am appalled at the devastation to the earth by plastic bags!  I have been trying to sell the
    “fabric” reusable bags in my store.  Most customers refuse… but when I tell them that we
    will be switching to reusable bags in the near future 99% of them think it’s a great idea!
    So how do we go about getting rid of plastic bags in our stores?  Other companies have done
    It and they are smaller than Walmart.  So what is holding us back?  Think of the impact that
    could be made!!!
    Amy Bell
    Antioch, IL