Green Options » lee scott

Another Transition: Wal-Mart’s Incoming CEO Declares “Sustainability is not Optional”

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:51:57 +0000

Last June, I asked if it was “crunch time” for Wal-Mart’s sustainability initiatives? After all, the economy was faltering, and consumers were focused on saving money more than saving the planet. After subsequent economic events (think Lehman Brothers, the car makers, and 2.6 million jobs lost), that question seems even more pertinent.

So, when I pulled up the recorded webcast of Monday’s Sustainability Milestone Meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas, I was very interested to see what Mike Duke, who will take over the reigns of the company on February 2nd, had to say about the topic in relationship to the current economic climate.

Of course, this meeting was “star-studded” in a fashion: no Queen Latifah or American Idol winners, but famed architect and cradle-to-cradle proponent William McDonough was the keynote speaker for the event. While I’m always interested to hear what McDonough had to say, Duke was the one to watch at this meeting. The move towards sustainability has been a keystone of the second half of outgoing CEO Lee Scott’s tenure at the helm; would Duke give any indication that he didn’t share his predecessor’s passion for greening the company?

Dear WalMart - Thank You and Farewell Mr. Lee Scott

Dave Sattler — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:59:55 +0000

Just days before the Thanksgiving holiday, Lee Scott, announced that as of February 1, 2009 he will step down as the CEO of WalMart. The CEO position will then be filled by Mike Duke, head of international operations.

Now, WalMart is by no means a saint, and makes for an easy target as the world’s largest retailer but it is hard to identify another company that has made such a dramatic transformation and taken such a leadership role in advancing green operations and standards in their industry than WalMart.

During his nine-year tenure as CEO, WalMart experienced severe public criticism, plummeting stock prices, and the retailer fell off the radar for the large majority of consumers lured by Target or Costco.

Much of the eco-friendly innovations in the retail industry today were initiated by Walmart, under the leadership of Lee Scott. Just last month, at the company’s sustainability summit in China last month, Lee Scott laid out even stricter environmental standards, saying;

“Our goal is for the supplier factories to meet or exceed all social and environmental laws and regulations” Wal-Mart President and CEO Scott told the gathering on Wednesday. “I want to be direct: My intention here is to send a strong message about how serious we are. Meeting social and environmental standards is not optional.”

Followed by this stern statement; “If they still do not improve, they will be banned from making products for Wal-Mart,” Scott said.

Wal-Mart falls short of its environmental goals

Alex Goldschmidt — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:39:18 +0000

Wal-Mart’s environmental initiatives have been a major part of the company’s recent attempts to win public favor. The company has made a number of lofty promises aimed at improving its carbon footprint AND its public image. CEO Lee Scott has announced plans to reduce packaging, improve its truck fleet and “green up” the company’s stores. Up until now, the public has bought it.

But an article in today’s Northwest Arkansas Morning News shows that the company’s suppliers just aren’t responding the way the company had hoped. Pressure on suppliers was a major aspect - one of pray few tangible plans from the company - to reduce its carbon footprint. Today’s Morning News article reveals that fewer than half of Wal-Mart’s supplier companies have met demands for packaging improvements, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll be reaching Wal-Mart’s goals any time soon.

What will Wal-Mart do to remedy the situation? Cut out over half its suppliers? We think not. Perhaps Wal-Mart should make some changes to its own business model, before it starts demanding changes from its suppliers.

Suppliers struggle with scorecard [Northwest Arkansas Morning News]

Wal-Mart Admits “We Are Not Green”

Alex Goldschmidt — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:35:42 +0000

Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott attended the ECO:nomics conference in California this week. Wal-Mart has been heralded as a forerunner of corporate environmentalism: in 2005, the company announced big plans to “green up” its act. But when Scott was asked when Wal-Mart expects to achieve the environmental goals it set forth in 2005, Scott answered bluntly: “I have no idea when that will be.”

It’s the first time anyone from Wal-Mart has admitted so candidly that the company has no foreseeable plans to implement the changes it has promised. The company has failed to provide tangible benchmarks up until now (its 2007 sustainability report was unsubstantial) and Scott’s statements today imply the company has no intention of providing quantifiable results in the years to come.

In addition, Scott’s comments in this Wall Street Journal video lay bare the fact that Wal-Mart’s motivations lie with profitability, not environmentalism. While money is indeed a great motivator, the company’s dedication to eco-efforts is fickle at best. The company simply doesn’t have the stamina to achieve the long-term goals its set forth. Zero waste and 100% renewable energy are a looong ways off for this company.

Wal-Mart’s “Company of the Future”: Energy

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:16:04 +0000

In October 2005, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott gave a speech entitled “Twenty-First Century Leadership.” Part idealistic vision, part concrete blueprint, the speech made all of us in the green community stand up and take another look at the company. Regardless of one’s thoughts about Wal-Mart as a corporate citizen, all had to admit that Scott set bold long-term goals for the company: powering itself on 100% renewable energy, creating zero waste, and selling “products that sustain our resources and our environment.”

Last night, at the company’s Year-Beginning Meeting in Kansas City, Scott gave another speech, titled “The Company of the Future,” that returned to the themes of corporate leadership, social responsibility, and sustainability. Like its predecessor, this speech combined vision with practical goals. I’d originally planned to write one post giving a broad overview of the speech, but given Wal-Mart’s position as the world’s largest retailer, and the breadth of the ideas presented, a series seemed more appropriate.

Energy savings have already played into the company’s attempts to transform itself (and, admittedly, its image). From a business perspective, this makes sense: energy’s an expense. Scott’s focus in this speech, though, wasn’t so much on the company using energy more efficiently itself, but on helping customers save energy: