Interview with Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Director September 8, 2008
[Video Link for Email/Other Subscribers - 8.5min]
Janelle Kearsley gives us an interesting look inside how Wal-Mart is building sustainability into its culture through educating buyers, and establishing networks with diverse 3rd party collaborators. Additionally, they’re building energy,water, and waste reduction thinking throughout its operations, supplemented by employee responsibility for proactively starting small initiatives whose best practices can then be shared with the org at large.
While I highly commend them for their multi-party collaborations for product development, and their bottoms-up approach to sustainability initiatives, I am concerned about the number of products that will receive 3rd party certifications. Consumers must have a sense of trust in the sustainability of the products they buy. Granted, packaging minimizations and other product design aspects (like removing water) speak for themselves. And as for the product concepts for Spring 09, stories are good but what about quality assurance? Should consumers trust what the marketing copy says? If we’re not including at least some credible single-attribute product certifications (ex: FSC, Energy Star, TransFair, RainForest Alliance), you’re opening the door for potential greenwashing.
For product sustainability, the absolute two best things Wal-Mart can begin doing now is PUSH manufacturers toward 100% post consumer recycled paper fibers and PET (polyethylene) plastics.
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To see additional interviews from the Sustainable Operations Summit, please visit their Brightcove channel
It’s unfortunate that a lot of the detail that exists is not shared. I feel fortunate that for a period of time after the dot.flops I switched industries to gain experience in commercial building (a fascinating industry). I actually worked for the commercial landscaping company that was awarded the $1MIL contract for the unique landscaping that was put into the McKinney, TX store. For all of the details I saw and was fascinated with, there was the earlier side of the story that I lacked (why certain product decisions were made and what the hopes were for performance or some other contribution/gain). These are critical stories that could/should be told, almost on an ongoing basis (updates over time as to what else has been learned).
Thanks Paula for sharing.
We oftentimes are presented with an end result, without the details of what went into it. What criteria went into the decision, were certain parties favored, what weights did cost and environmental/health concern play, what was the payback period for a project, was the project funding and expected completion dates realistic?
In the end, glitz and gloss may emerge but one must ask what compromises were made. That question is the essence of challenging our business and society to move beyond the cost and functional factors alone.