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:

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