Eco Lessons From Wal-Mart? 10 Tips From The World's Biggest Company (PHOTOS)

The idea of greener Wal-Mart would have been inconceivable a few years ago -- laughable, even. Yet now the likes of Jeffrey Hollender, cofounder of the green home products company Seventh Generation, for years a vocal Wal-Mart critic, says, "Wal-Mart has become a legitimate sustainability leader... Wal-Mart's enormous size and influence holds the potential to create the tipping point the corporate responsibility movement has been waiting for." In short, the company once derided as the "bully of Bentonville" is serious about green, having concluded that the clean, green and least wasteful way of doing business is also the most profitable way of doing business. And what works for the world's biggest company can work for anyone.

So here are ten lessons from Wal-Mart's journey to the green side, five that apply to anyone, five aimed specifically at businesses.

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FOR EVERYONE: Carbon = Energy = Money

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Forget all that scary stuff you've heard from politicians about how cutting carbon emissions to stem climate change will kill jobs and destroy American business. Wal-Mart says that's crazy talk. Greening your home or business makes your richer. How? Carbon comes from using energy. Energy costs money. Which means cutting carbon saves the planet and saves you money. So do what Wal-Mart does: use energy-efficient lighting. Plant shady trees near your house or business. Insulate your attic and, if you have a flat roof, paint it white. Clean the filters in your refrigerator, heater and AC. Small businesses who follow Wal-Mart's advice have had their energy bills drop 20 to 60 percent by taking just those steps.

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Forget all that scary stuff you've heard from politicians about how cutting carbon emissions to stem climate change will kill jobs and destroy American business. Wal-Mart says that's crazy talk. Greening your home or business makes your richer. How? Carbon comes from using energy. Energy costs money. Which means cutting carbon saves the planet and saves you money. So do what Wal-Mart does: use energy-efficient lighting. Plant shady trees near your house or business. Insulate your attic and, if you have a flat roof, paint it white. Clean the filters in your refrigerator, heater and AC. Small businesses who follow Wal-Mart's advice have had their energy bills drop 20 to 60 percent by taking just those steps.

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I already knew that! Great green tip!

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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Edward Humes is the author of 11 nonfiction books. His latest is
"FORCE OF NATURE: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart's Green Revolution" (Harper Business, May 2011).

 

Follow Edward Humes on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@edwardhumes

Comments

[littlepog1984]

01:46 PM on 06/10/2011

Walmart is not the most economic or waste free business. I personally know many people who work at Walmart and none of this is true. The corporation throws away food that is not even at the "best by" date. They throw away anything that is reaching the "sell by" date rather then discount or donate it to organizations in need. If you were to walk into the rear of the store you would find dumpsters full of old food and would every once in a while you would see a mouse or two running across the floor. The light bulbs, as it were, are a complete myth. People, both professional and novice alike have found the same outcome. They use no less energy then normal bulbs and they last no longer. Walmart needs to stop shelling out money for all these lies and start paying attention to their main employees.

[POKETNRJSH]

03:36 AM on 06/11/2011

This is mostly a per-store problem. My store donates 90+% of our "expired" food - the only things that go to waste are cold foods that people return or leave at the register (if you don't want something PLEASE put it back or hand it to the cashier to put back on the shelf) and we compost anything we can. We donate newly-expired stuff when we can. I admit our store uses the same fluorescent tubes, but we also have skylights with light sensors - if that skylight isn't getting enough light, the fluorescents around it turn on, but when the natural light picks up they turn off. After employees, energy bills are a store's next biggest costs - and saving on bills not only saves the company money, it saves the consumer money as well. I assure you that if it saves the company and the consumer money, we make an effort to do it. Not to completely defend Walmart, but it's not nearly as bad overall as they're made out to be, and a lot of it is store dependent - as you mention, food at our store is 90% reused, but in some communities charities and non-profits won't take the food, so it has to be thrown out. It's very situational, and each store acts independently. It's not the best, but for being the biggest retailer in the world, Walmart does a pretty good job.

[James Langford]

07:57 AM on 05/31/2011

Best tip for helping the environment and the working poor at the same time: DON'T SHOP AT WALMART.

[ThisAlreadyHappened]

02:25 AM on 05/29/2011

LOL, WTF, I just bought a couple boxes of Egg Rolls from Wal-Mart and they are made in the U.S.!

[Highlulu]

02:36 PM on 05/25/2011

this is all well and good from Wal-mart... but how about paying their workers this crazy thing called a living wage? or does a business this size really think it's acceptable to have tax payers subsidize so many of their employees via federal and state aid?

[POKETNRJSH]

03:40 AM on 06/11/2011

I do wish that my 33 hours a week would amount to more than 9k a year. After paying for school and rent and medical costs, I don't net a positive amount of money at all. But, part of the low costs and drawing customers is the low paychecks. The company's biggest cost is paychecks. And as an employee that is also a shareholder, I can understand why they are stubborn to increase pay (not that I am against it at all, even as a shareholder!)

[spoonbill1963]

02:57 PM on 05/24/2011

Walmart rules. I love shopping there for one big reason: Low prices.
Keep the unions out.

[Rebecca Valentine]

02:55 PM on 05/24/2011

These 10 eco-points are good, and show us actions we could take in our businesses but are often not.

However, I got a bit shivery with the “Burst the Bubble, Embrace the Critics” item: I applaud reaching out to environmentalists/sustainability experts to go greener, but wonder why a multi-million dollar FOR PROFIT does not value such expertise enough to pay for it?

I know of a 5-star hotel that “hired” sustainability experts as “interns”, paying nothing for a sustainability plan in order to have the veneer of a green venture. If a company cannot pay for consulting, their actions ring hollow and hint toward greenwashing (compensating those that improve your company's eco-position indicates you value the info).

I remain ambivalent as to whether Walmart will save the day, but admit the company has great pull to green its supply chain.

Regarding "buying local”: has Main Street lost the ability to create commerce, and must we now have huge corporations sell us OUR LOCAL PRODUCTS? As shown in various studies
(see link http://sonomacounty.golocal.coop/stories/the_local_multiplier_effect/17/ ), for every dollar spent at a local shop, 45 cents is invested in the local economy, whereas spend a dollar at a corporate chain, only 15 cents is reinvested locally. Investing in local goods and services (delivered by locals) has got to be part of our sustainable future. If you SPEND LESS at Walmart, it may COST MORE for your community’s well-being.

[Edward Humes]

06:09 PM on 05/24/2011

You raise an important distinction, Rebecca. Wal-Mart's acceptance of the business case for sustainability has been a catalyst for other companies and even whole industries to begin greening their operations. That's worth paying attention to because it represents a very compelling message about the economic value of green in generating profits, jobs and prosperity. However, that doesn't mean there aren't far greener choices for shoppers. There certainly are. Nor does it mean that Wal-Mart is, or ever will be, wholly green or sustainable.

[Saidas]

09:48 AM on 05/24/2011

I don't for a moment believe that WM is "going green" for any other reason than that is is or soon will be profitable to do so. They see the economic future of "going green" and know the benefits of getting a head start. I also think they know full well of Peak Oil and the dire consequences it will soon have so securing local vendors, especially with foods, is a very smart hedge.

[Edward Humes]

02:06 PM on 05/24/2011

You are absolutely right -- but that is the point. The environment is best served when big business views green as an opportunity rather than a cost and a burden. When a company such as Wal-Mart, as bottom-line-oriented and red-state as can be, says there is a business case for sustainability and that green is good for profits, it represents a major shift. Look at the paralysis and vitriol over green in Washington, the constant assertions that doing right by the environment will kill jobs or prolong the recession. And then there's Wal-Mart, of all companies, along with a growing number of like-minded businesses and industries, saying that's crazy talk, that green is good for business.