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Apart from the generation of profit, one of the key points mentioned by R. Edward Freeman in the “What is Stakeholder Theory?” video on preventing a business from entering the stage of decline, is the business’s fulfilment of its corporate social responsibility. One of these responsibilities include establishing sustainable business practices. In today’s society, businesses are often criticised by pressure groups for issues such as high levels of air pollution and the depletion of natural resources. This is most evident during the production process, especially for multinational corporations such as Walmart and Target which utilises large numbers of factories producing insurmountable amounts of waste.
One business that has focused on becoming more sustainable is Walmart. Walmart is an American multinational retail corporation that owns chains of department and warehouse stores across the world. The article, published in April of 2013, highlights Walmart’s extensive efforts on fulfilling its environmental responsibilities. For example, it focused on using more renewable energy sources, selling more sustainable products, and reducing plastic shopping waste etc. Evidently, Walmart is fulling committed to R. Edward Freeman’s theory of the importance of being socially and environmentally responsible in order to maintain a successful business. Andrea Thomas, Walmart’s senior vice president of sustainability, stated that “the accomplishments we are sharing today represent Walmart’s focus on our customers, our business and our communities.” However, referring to the reading excerpt “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Profits”, one may question whether or not it is optimal for Walmart to be spending its money and resources on these efforts, and whether or not these efforts are purely actions of window-dressing or attempts to deceive its customers.
Bibliography:
CSR Press Release. (2013, April 22). RSS. Retrieved September 11, 2014, from http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/35509-Walmart-Highlights-Sustainability-Progress-in-its-2013-Global-Responsibility-Report