Sunday, June 04, 2006
Global Warming - It's Getting Harder to Hate Wal-Mart
Sounds like Wal-Mart is planning a "sea change"...
Lloyd Alter reports at "TreeHugger.com":
"Whether or not we shop there, we all feel the Wal-Mart Effect as it changes the way everyone buys and everyone sells. We don't shop there, and we also just read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, which demolishes any belief in the idea that big organic is any better than big industrial food production, so we are not particularly concerned about Wal-marts entry into this market. We do note that TreeHugger has done 9 posts this year about Wal-Mart going with Green Roofs, Bullfrog Power, Corn based plastics, sustainable fish and buying forests. They are replacing their trucking fleet to double its fuel efficiency. What's going on? Is this for real or greenwashing? Can we reconcile it with our world view of Wal-Mart as a union-busting, supplier-abusing, smalltown-destroying behemoth?
We recently read Wal-Mart President Lee Scott's October 'secret' speech to employees on '21st Century Leadership' where he lays out his plans to make Wal-Mart radically different. He asks the rhetorical question:
'What would it take for Wal-Mart to be that company, at our best, all the time? What if we used our size and resources to make this country and this earth an even better place for all of us: customers, Associates, our children, and generations unborn? What would that mean? Could we do it? Is this consistent with our business model? What if the very things that many people criticize us for – our size and reach – became a trusted friend and ally to all?'"
