Walmart may have fooled a majority of society, but this post should clarify things up.
When people think Walmart, they picture a giant cooperation. With the news that Walmart set up a variety of initiatives for the environment, people picture a giant cooperation that sincerely values the environment.However, I don’t believe that’s the case. One could argue that Walmart is simply creating shared value and is looking to also fulfill their social responsibilities by converting to solar energy. However, through my analysis, that’s far from their true intentions.
Walmart may be installing twice the amount solar capacity compared to the next closest company, Kohl’s, but that statistic is misleading given that Walmart proportionally only uses 3% of solar energy of its total energy usage. More than 200 other companies have dedicated a 100 percent of their electricity use with solar means, including Whole Foods, Staples, and Kohl’s. This might spark the argument that at least Walmart is doing something in support of green energy. However, these presumed sincere intentions seem to contradict with the Walton family’s (Walmart’s majority owner) funding to ALEC, a lobbying group who strives for anti-climate and anti-clean legislations. Even Google has pulled out their funding to this group, because of their large funding into clean energy. That’s not all, the Walton family also owns a company called Solar First. This point may seem like a positive direction for the Waltons, however their environmental intentions go so far. Since the company’s manufactures are located in Malaysia, they have been trying to repeal solar incentives within the U.S because their policies give preference to local procedures. In short, the Walton family will not support the green energy initiative if it means hurting their profit margins, despite their claims of supporting a better tomorrow.
The Waltons
Bibliography
Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://blogs-images.forbes.com/briansolomon/files/2012/10/54C1BBAA21462097185CBC187F695121.jpg>.
Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://a.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/fc_files/slideshow/77238-walmart-goes-green-slide-01.jpg>.
“Walmart Is Killing the Rest of Corporate America in Solar Power Adoption.” Slate Magazine. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/10/21/walmart_green_energy_it_can_produce_more_solar_power_than_35_states.html>.
“Walmart Isn’t Really Green, Just Really Big.” Grist. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://grist.org/news/walmart-isnt-really-green-just-really-big/>.