Wal-Mart should be applauded for taking serious steps to green its supply chain. Now it must humanise it.
It took a hurricane to turn Wal-Mart green. When Hurricane Katrina rocked New Orleans in 2005, the US retailer was on the frontline of the relief efforts, delivering food and drinking water to flood survivors. Meanwhile, in Bentonville, Wal-Mart chief Lee Scott saw in Katrina an augur of catastrophic global warming. Two months later, in October 2005, Scott announced his plans to make the big-box giant a leader in environmental stewardship.
Wal-Mart's immediate response to Katrina showed just how effective the company can be when it puts its mind to something. Within hours of the disaster Wal-Mart had flexed its logistics muscle and sent trucks packed with aid to hurricane victims. It is no surprise, then, that since turning his attention to the environment, Scott has got results. As Jon Entine explains in this month's cover story (from p36), Wal-Mart has taken huge steps to spread environmental best practices throughout its supply chain. When the retail giant strode towards sustainability, its 6,000 suppliers had no choice but to follow.
See full Article.
Posts
