23 Organizations Issue Damning Critique of Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Initiatives

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/1115-12.htm

Human rights, labor and environmental groups find Wal-Mart’s “green” initiatives lack real impact on global warming, employee health and welfare


WASHINGTON, DC - November 15 - As Wal-Mart releases its long-anticipated sustainability progress report today, 23 environmental, farm, labor, and human rights groups are disseminating their own report, “Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Initiative: A Civil Society Critique.”

The report, prepared by some of the country’s most respected public interest groups, includes sections on Wal-Mart’s specific commitments in seven product areas -- organics, seafood, shrimp, forest products, cypress mulch, product packaging, and toxic chemicals -- as well as sections on global warming and Wal-Mart’s international business practices. It argues that even if Wal-Mart achieved all of its stated goals, the company’s business model is inherently unsustainable.

This damning critique comes nearly two years after Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott announced a bold initiative to turn the world’s largest company green. However, as the report explains, “Wal-Mart's goal to cut its annual greenhouse gases by five million tons would be admirable if it weren't for the fact that the company publicly acknowledged in 2006 that its global operations created 220 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. That's more than 40 times the emissions the company says it would like to eliminate.”

Moreover, according to the progress report Wal-Mart released today, the company's global carbon emissions actually rose 8.6% in 2006, indicating that the company is far off track in meetings its own goals.

Wal-Mart has used its massive political clout to support an anti-sustainability agenda in the U.S. Congress. According to report contributor Corporate Ethics International, two-thirds of Wal-Mart’s PAC campaign contributions in the last election went to candidates who earned failing grades from the League of Conservation Voters. “Wal-Mart claims to be a leader in the battle against global warming, yet it’s one of the largest contributors to politicians with the worst records on global warming,” says Michael Marx, Corporate Ethics International’s Executive Director.

Ultimately, the report contends that the mega-retailer’s “sustainability” agenda ignores the health and welfare of employees, customers, the environment and local economies both in the US and across the globe. “Wal-Mart can change to more efficient light bulbs, but that doesn’t change its carbon footprint or the enormous social consequences of its globally unsustainable business model. If we look at its practices internationally, Wal-Mart has used its market power to cut costs at the expense of workers and the environment across the developing world,” says report contributor Ruben Garcia of Global Exchange.

FULL story at link.

[greenman3610]

1. while a critique is valuable, merely making a demon out of a corporation is not useful

There is a struggle going on for the soul of all American institutions, and
every company has within its ranks potential change makers, people of
vision who see what is going on and seek to make positive change.

Critique of initiatives like Wal Mart's should try to speak to those
better elements in the target organization and seek to empower embolden them.
By just generally damning a whole group, you may just end up hardening the
forces that oppose change.

(think: the unconstructive US position towards Iran...)