Going Green
Requirements
Lee Scott took control of Wal-Mart in 2000 with a newly adopted strategy of making logistical processes more economically friendly. “Green” logistics, at its core, means implementing a system that can independently monitor overseas suppliers to make sure they meet social and environmental standards. Though the push for becoming environmentally friendly is important, a global company like Wal-Mart must consider the transformation’s effect on the bottom line. Lee Scott saw the two goals as intertwined: “being a good steward of the environment and being profitable are not mutually exclusive. They are one and the same” (MSNBC, 2005). Scott provided an example by calculating that improving fuel mileage efficiency in the trucking fleet by one mile per gallon would save more than $52 million per year. The move toward sustainability also integrated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into Wal-Mart’s business model. Ideally, this CSR policy would function as a built-in self-regulating mechanism where Wal-Mart could monitor and ensure their adherence to laws, ethical standards, and international norms. This CSR policy would be a way for the company to embrace responsibility for the impact of their activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.