When Pigs Fly

So Wal-Mart is going green:

The factories in China are going to end up having to be held up to the same standards as the factories in the U.S. There will be a day of reckoning for retailers. If somebody wakes up and finds out that children that are down the river from that factory where you save three cents a foot in the cost of garden hose are developing cancers at significant rates -- so that the American public can save three cents a foot -- those things won't be tolerated, and they shouldn't be tolerated.

Time will tell as to whether or not Wal-Mart’s plunge into sustainability is for real, or if it’s just running interference for the Administration trying to rein in juggernaut China, using labor and environmental standards as economic weapons. It would be more compelling if Wal-Mart also gave some thought about low, low prices driving out local businesses and creating a class of working poor in this country.

A cynical view would be that corporate social responsibility, including sustainability goals, is not consistent with the goals of a for-profit company. Some would argue that’s the way it should be – corporate self-interest and public good can coexist in an environment with a competitive marketplace and fair pricing. That’s a mighty big assumption, though.

Corporate social responsibility for a lot of companies is a media relations tool for enhancing their image, with increased market share as the end-game. However, some would argue that increasing market share is not aligned with sustainability, no matter how you dress it up. Big companies have the power to push on their suppliers to be greener (“greening the supply chain”), but who pushes on the big companies?

That’s our job.