Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Walmart's Sustainability Index Begins

By Joel Makower

"Walmart has just unveiled its new Sustainability Index, a project that's been in the works for more than a year, but which is -- finally, after much anticipation and more than a little handwringing by industry, activists, and others -- part of the public discourse. The advance stories over the past few days have been amped up to the point of breathlessness, involving adjectives like 'huge' (perhaps) and 'audacious' (probably), with one story suggesting the Index will 'shake the world' (um, no comment). Such hyperbole is understandable: any green commitment that Walmart makes is potentially a big deal. But now that reality has hit, it's time to take a more sober assessment of what's really going on here.

I've been watching the Index unfold over the past year. I've seen early iterations, talked to some of the many suppliers, nonprofits, academics, and consultants that Walmart has engaged in this effort, and viewed the final product.

My assessment: Like so many things related to both Walmart and sustainability, there is both more and less going on here than meets the eye." Read the entire article.

No comments:

Share This Post