Comments on: Wal-Mart’s BIG problem: climate change

By: Have I fallen in love with Walmart?

Have I fallen in love with Walmart? — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:46:47 +0000

[...] lots, the company’s CSR reports, etc. I’ve been critical at times–pointing to Walmart’s BIG problem: climate change and writing that Walmart CEO (Mike Duke) has a problem with gays–but most of my coverage of [...]

By: Beyond Green » Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard gives thumbs up to Wal-Mart sustainability « MIT Sloan Management Review

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:48:11 +0000

[...] that the company’s overall carbon footprint is rising — regardless of what it does. As Marc Gunther points out on his blog: …the problem is that all the good things that Wal-Mart is doing–increasing its use of [...]

By: Jim W

Jim W — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:09:25 +0000

Marc,
I’m not saying this in defense of Wal-Mart, but I think we need to look at the bigger picture. If Wal-Mart has made strides in lowering their CO2/sales, and people are buying more in general, from a CO2 perspective it would seem to be better that they made those increased purchases from a Wal-Mart that has made these CO2 reductions, right?? So, I think there is a degree of truth in Wal-Mart’s response. So, I would stand with the previous comments and your final paragraph that it is not a Wal-Mart problem, it is a consumerism problem. But if the consumerism problem continues to grow, from a CO2 perspective, it is better that they feed the frenzy through an outlet that is reducing the impact in some form.
Jim

By: Peter T. Knight

Peter T. Knight — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:51:02 +0000

This is not a Wal-Mart problem. Any growing company will use more energy and unless there is a magical non-carbon solution, its absolute emissions will go up and up, and up. If Wal-Mart can’t disconnect its growth from emissions who can? Does this, perhaps, point to the stupidity of the current PC thinking on carbon? We should be spending our efforts on invention and adaptation, not deluding ourselves that we can save the world by unplugging our BlackBerry chargers.

By: Dave Gardner

Dave Gardner — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:22:57 +0000

This Wal-Mart dilemma exemplifies the problem at large – our insistence on economic growth and our ignorance of the need to curb population growth dwarf our efforts to green up our lives.

By: Louis Tenenbaum

Louis Tenenbaum — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:58:57 +0000

Nice new look Marc. Still great content.
Reducing total footprint is at odds with continually growing GDP, output, sales – whatever measure. As green becomes good business are we really ready for a simpler absolutely ‘less is more’ lifestyle? Can we wean ourselves from the constant pursuit of increasing consumption, measuring our economy’s success by growth? Isn’t that how corporations are structured?

By: Tom Konrad

Tom Konrad — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:17:37 +0000

Perhaps the problem is not getting bigger and smaller at the same time, but the paradigm that says we have to get bigger in the first place.