The management realize that sustainability was one of

the management realize that sustainability was one of the most popular discussion topics
among the WMT associates and their families.
15
‘Sustainability is not a separate initiative
at Wal-Mart, as it is at many other firms. Sustainability is being integrated into all parts
of the business’,
16
said Frank Dixon (Dixon), former Managing Director of Research for
Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, a leading sustainability research firm.
M
EETING
C
OMMITMENTS
WMT had met with success in meeting some of its commitments. The company had
become the leading seller of organic milk and the leading buyer of organic cotton. In
May 2008, the company met the goal of transitioning its entire liquid laundry detergent
category in the US to the concentrated segment, thereby meeting the pledge made at
the 2007 Clinton Global Initiative Meeting. It was assessed that this commitment, within
three years, would save 95 million pounds of plastic resin, more than 400 million gallons
of water and more than 125 million pounds of cardboard. On 20 November 2008, the
company announced a wind energy purchase from Duke Energy Wind Farm, which was
expected to supply 15 per cent of WMT’s total load in its 360 stores and other facilities in
Texas. In January 2008, the company opened the second generation of High-Efficiency
Stores (HE2) which used 25 percent less energy than the traditional Wal-Mart Supercentre.
12
(Accessed on 4 November 2009).
13
(Accessed on 4 November 2009).
14
As part of Everyday low prices, companies eliminate periodic promotional discounts to offer prices that
are consistently lesser than customary prices.
15
(Accessed on 4 November 2009).
16
The largest corporate sustainability research firm in the world.
at Alliant International University on March 10, 2010 Downloaded from

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, 6(2), 2009: 119–133
On 2 February 2009, WMT announced that by using innovative technologies, better
delivery routes and efficient loading of its trailers, more than a 25 per cent efficiency in-
crease within its private fleet had been achieved between 2005 and 2008. This helped the
company to surpass one of its sustainability goals, as announced by Scott in 2005.
In line with its strategy of providing goods and services at low cost, the company tried to
bring green products to the mainstream. In April 2008, WMT launched the ‘Earth Month’
campaign where eco-friendly items were promoted at competitive prices. ‘Wal-Mart is
uniquely positioned to make sustainable choices a real option for hundreds of millions of
Americans, not just the few who until now could afford to choose them’, said Kistler.