Walmart and The Environment
• Walmart is one of the biggest and fastest growing climate polluters in the nation. Since 2005, the year the company launched its “sustainability” campaign, Walmart’s self-reported greenhouse gas emissions have grown 14%. Walmart's direct and indirect emissions now exceed those of many countries. This calculation does not include a number of sources of emissions, including those connected to ocean shipping of goods sold in Walmart stores.[1]
• Compared to other large U.S. corporations, Walmart has been slow to shift to renewable power. It currently gets 4% of the electricity for its stores from wind or solar. In contrast, Kohl’s and Staples get 100% of their electricity from renewable sources, while Starbucks get 70% and McDonald’s gets 30%. Walmart’s use of renewable power decreased between 2012 and 2013.[2]
• In 2007, the company set a goal of becoming packaging neutral by 2025.[3] After reducing packaging by 5%, the company declared the goal “not met” and ended the program in 2013.[4]
Environmental Impact of Walmart Business Model
Walmart’s business model carries a heavy environmental impact.
- Big-box problems: Walmart’s 3,200+ Supercenters, averaging 105,000 square feet [5], are estimated by the Sierra Club to use as much energy each day as nearly 1,100 homes.[6]
- Sprawl and land consumption: Walmart is known for building large stores, along with massive parking lots, on the fringes of communities, in areas ill-served by public transit. Its selection of construction locations for new stores has been criticized for encouraging more car travel, sprawl, and irresponsible land use.[7] [8]
- Selling low-quality goods: Walmart’s focus on cutting costs has led suppliers to produce cheaper goods of lesser quality.[9] These goods wear out or break faster – requiring frequent replacements and creating more waste.[10] This creates a cycle that helps Walmart’s short-term sales but creates significant waste and environment impact in the long-term.[11]
- Supply chain: Walmart is the U.S.’s largest importer of containerized ocean cargo. While ocean shipping is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, Walmart does not include the environmental impact of ocean shipping in its greenhouse gas emissions calculations. [12]
Political spending favors environmental opponents
Walmart and the Walton family, the majority owner of the company, shows that Walmart and the Waltons are major contributors to electoral campaigns of politicians who obstruct action on the environment. In 2012, Walmart gave the bulk of its money (over $3.6 million) to lawmakers who regularly vote against the environment. [13]
Between 2005 and 2012, Walmart and the Waltons gave $2.1 million, more than half of their total Congressional campaign donations, to members of Congress with lifetime scores of 30 or less on the League of Conservation Voters scorecard. In addition, 69% of contributions from the Walmart PAC and 88% from the Walton family in 2011 and 2012 went to lawmakers who voted in favor of the Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline in 2012.[14]
References
- ↑ Stacy Mitchell "Walmart's Greenwash" Institute for Local Self Reliance March 7, 2012
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Melanie Colburn "Walmart: 2013 Global Responsibility Report Released" Triple Pundit April 24, 2013
- ↑ Walmart Stores, Inc "Walmart 2013 Global Responsibility Report" Walmart Stores Inc April 24, 2013
- ↑ Walmart Stores, Inc. "Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10k" Walmart Stores. Fiscal Year Ending January 31, 2014.
- ↑ The Sierra Club "What is Walmart's True Environmental Footprint?" June 2011.
- ↑ Kaid Benfield "The Failure of Walmart's Sustainability Measures" CityLab from The Atlantic. August 2, 2012
- ↑ Stacy Mitchell "Walmart's Greenwash" Institute for Local Self Reliance March 7, 2012
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Stacy Mitchell "Is Your Stuff Falling Apart? Thank Walmart." Grist November 11, 2011
- ↑ Stacy Mitchell "Walmart's Assault on the Climate: The Truth Behind One of the Biggest Climate Polluters and Slickest Greenwashers in America" Institute for Local Self Reliance. November, 2013
- ↑ Stacy Mitchell and Jesse Bacon "The Truth Behind Walmart's Green Claims" Institute for Local Self Reliance, March 31, 2014.
- ↑ Making Change at Walmart "Walmart and the Environment Fact Sheet" Accessed June 24, 2014
