Walmart is not a sustainable company but...

I'm not even sure what a sustainable company would look like.  As you read this, I'm sure there are differences in opinion about what a sustainable company would be.  Would it exist off the grid?  Would it find ways around fossil fuels for just its direct transportation or would it also find alternatives for its customers?  Would it have to be small?   

Without getting too caught up in this debate, I believe a big company can be MORE sustainable, and, more importantly, I believe that without big companies, sustainability will struggle to create the MASSIVE change we need.  This opportunity is why I work at Wal-Mart.  I wanted to work for a place where I could make change, (though I admit I didn't expect to make that difference in sustainability when I started my career). Say what you will about Wal-Mart's reputation, a decision at Wal-Mart can change the world.

I could share hundreds of examples illustrating why I believe this, but I'll just share two.

It may sound silly, but because Wal-Mart worked with suppliers to reduce liquid laundry detergents, effectively concentrating detergent so you can put it in a smaller bottle, about 30 million pounds of plastic and about 40 million pounds of cardboard will not be wasted.  Just think about the amount of fossil fuels reduced in transporting smaller bottles which take up less  space and making less plastic, which is of course made from oil. 

You probably know about organic cotton, and how much healthier it is, but you may not know that it takes 3 years for cotton fields to be certified as organic.  That means significant hardship on farmers for that time period while they wait before their product can command a higher price because it is certified organic.  A small change to add conversion cotton
(cotton being grown during that 3 year transition) to a few of Wal-Mart's products will mean 10 million pounds of conversion cotton will be purchased by Wal-Mart next year and this will help even more farmers convert to organic. 

Small Changes really can make a Big Impact.