Earlier this month, the New York Times wrote an article about how Walmart is now aiming to go green in the food department. The company is creating an effort to become more sustainable by working with nonprofit organizations, and by rewarding farmers who show the most progress in reducing emissions through a better use of fertilizer. Walmart plans to use their global scale, to produce more food with fewer resources, support farmers and their communities, and sustainably source key food commodities. The following video provides more information on the efforts Walmart is taking; Walmart Goes Green in the Food Department.

This sustainability approach which Walmart is going after, is a great way to attract attention and good public awareness as people are now caring more and more about where their food is coming from, and how it is made. I feel that Walmart is putting in an effort to create shared value between consumers, itself, and its producers and suppliers.  Walmart saw an opportunity and is taking advantage of it in order to add to their consumer base, and generate more sales and publicity. However, in my opinion, Walmart is using the sustainability approach more as a business tactic then solely for the purpose of creating value in the supply chain. I believe this to be true as Walmart’s core values are not based on this idea as their slogan is”Save Money, Live Better”. They are suggesting that their focus is providing consumers with products at a low cost. Being sustainable can be costly, and this leads me to believing that Walmart is advertising their going green as more of a sales tactic than anything else.

I am fully supportive of Walmart taking action, and developing ideas on how they can become more sustainable, and contribute to society in a positive way. However, I suggest that Walmart provides the public with follow-up information on their programs, and show an action plan for it to be more believable.

Sources:

http://corporate.walmart.com/global-responsibility/environment-sustainability/sustainable-agriculture