Impact of Environmental Sustainability on Business - Walmart

Impact of Environmental Sustainability on Business

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Impact of Environmental Sustainability on Business

Introduction

Modern day businesses are operating in a time when environmental conservation is of great concern; they have been forced to align their operations, values, goals, mission and philosophy to accommodate the new dimension of protecting the environment. The environmental impacts raised by the production and treatment of waste are a major concern. With an increase in call for more eco-friendly products, the emphasis has been made on all sectors of the economy to cut down on pollution and innovate ways in which to bring down the total harm on the environment. Even car manufacturers are working hard to create automobiles that go low on green house gases emission and energy efficient automobiles.

Sustainability is an asset but one that can’t be bought or sold but rather it’s a fundamental part to many companies philosophy. Organizations are supposed to create a balance between maintaining their operations at the level best while at the same time taking care of the environment by adoption of proper strategies to dispose of wastes and putting in place measures for attaining less environment degrading ways of conducting business. Historically, there has been an inverse relationship between the economic growth and environmental degradation such that as communities grow, the environment declines. One of the greatest concerns is however on packaging materials for consumer goods which are a major contributor to environmental pollution. Several different materials can be used for packaging including metals, paper or pulp, glass, wood, plastics or a combination of more than one of these materials as composites. While individual consumers gain the advantage of convenience of the use of plastic bags, the collective cost of their disposal is borne by the whole society.

Environmental Sustainability at Wal-Mart

At Wal-Mart they believe that to be an efficient and profitable business it all goes together with being a good custodian of our environment that we live in. Its mission of assisting more than 176 million shoppers each week save money and live better hasn't been altered. This has been achieved by offering high quality products that are affordable, ethically sourced, and most importantly environment friendly. In October 2005, they announced that they would implement a number of environmental measures to raise energy efficiency. Their main goals include spending $500 million each year to enhance fuel efficiency in the truck fleet by 25% for a period of three years and then doubling it within ten years. They also aim to trim down greenhouse gas emissions at a rate