When one hears Walmart, thoughts of green friendly practices and local farmers are probably far from anyone’s mind. Walmart is often equated with our consumerism, focus on low prices that don’t reflect true costs, corporatism, and, to many, all that is evil. It’s difficult then to reconcile this image with the changes Walmart is making in how they do business. In the past five years, Walmart has begun using hybrid 18 wheelers, recycling the plastic from their water bottles into dog beds, and carrying more environmentally sustainable products. It’s newest initiative focuses on the produce each Walmart sells.
Walmart is the biggest grocer in the world. This past Thursday, Walmart announced that it would be buying produce from more local farmers worldwide. In the United States, it is aiming to have 9% of purchases be locally grown produce by 2015. Farms will be held accountable for how much and how water, energy, fertilizer, and pesticides are used. Buying from small and female owned farms is also being incorporated into this initiative. In addition, each store will try to buy produce from areas close to the store or along main transportation corridors so that transportation costs are reduced. The new focus on local is only part of the new push. Walmart also plans to only buy palm oil from sustainable sellers and Brazilian beef only from producers who are not harming the Amazon as these two industries are huge contributors to the deforestation of the Amazon. These new goals are admirable and give hope that corporations have a conscience and a big picture view of the changes that need to happen. Seeing as Walmart is huge not just domestically but internationally, the example they’re setting of environmental and economic sustainability not being mutually exclusive is important. I must skeptically question how well these initiatives are kept to and how large an impact they make, but it is undeniably a step in the right direction for Walmart and corporate responsibility.
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