Sustainability and the Walmart 'Paradox'
The world's largest retailer's shift toward sustainability hasn’t quite silenced the critics or changed the perception of some of the company’s business practices, as evidenced by a survey that shows Walmart was named the most -- and the least -- most socially or responsible company.
Walmart made headlines last week with its announcement that it will seek environmental footprint data from tens of thousands of U.S. suppliers to create a product sustainability index.
Since 2005, the world’s largest retailer has taken a series of steps toward making its company more environmentally and socially responsible, moves made more impressive by the sheer size of its reach in the consumer products market.
Yet the shift toward sustainability hasn’t silenced the critics or changed the perception of some of the company’s business practices, as evidenced by a survey that shows Walmart was named the most -- and the least -- most socially or environmentally responsible company. The results were dubbed the “Walmart Paradox” by Raphael Bemporad and Mitch Baranowski, co-founders of BBMG, a marketing agency that produced the 2009 BBMG Conscious Consumer Report.
The pair are providing insight into the study they released in the spring as Walmart takes the next step in its drive to establish a sustainable supply chain. The sustainability index follows the company's recent sustainability report, which stressed Walmart's expectations for its supply chain and its work thus far to increase compliance with best practices. At Walmart's global supplier summit last fall, the company put its international suppliers on notice that sustainable practices are not optional.
In a blog that appeared at TriplePundit.com Thursday, the pair wrote:
“Despite the depth and aggressiveness of its sustainability goals, four years is a short window to shift perceptions. For a company long known for its ruthless maneuvers to outdo local competition and maximize sales of inexpensive goods made in countries thousands of miles away, the process of re-imagining its reputation is clearly a long one. Sites like WakeUpWalMart.com and WalMartWatch.com continue to pressure the company on many fronts, and some skeptics remain unconvinced.”
What’s the lesson here? According to BBMG, it’s the evolving marriage between brand communications, company culture and CSR, which can potentially be a culture-shifting, consumer-facing -- and brand-building -- platform that can have far ranging impacts on the marketplace.
The BBMG Conscious Consumer Report, based on a national survey of 2,000 adults, also offers another interesting finding: 41 percent of U.S. adults couldn’t come up with one company they would call the most socially or environmentally responsible, revealing a great opportunity for brand leadership, according to Baranowski.
"By fully integrating social and environmental practices into brand communications and corporate culture,” he said in a statement Thursday, “companies can raise awareness, build equity and inspire consumers to take action that will grow the bottom line while making a positive difference in the world."
The full report is available for a fee of $2,495.
Image CC licensed by Flickr user Dushaun.
