Sam and James Walton opened the first Walmart store on July 2, 1962. Since then, Walmart has grown to the worlds largest retailer employing 1.6 millionpeople.
Due to the movement to increase the minimum wage, Walmart has been in the crosshairs for perceived low pay and poor employee practices.
But here are some things about Walmart you might notknow.
Hurricane Katrina
Walmart, Lowes, and Home Depot were at the forefront of helping the recovery after Hurricane Katrina.
Using their delivery and merchandising expertise they provided needed supplies much faster thanFEMA.
Walmart alone donated $20 million in cash, 1,500 truckloads of free merchandise, 100,000 meals and a guaranteed job for every one of its workers that were displaced by the hurricane.
The Environment
Businesses know that by saving energy you can increase profits. That fact is not lost onWalmart.
Walmart committed to spend $600 million per year to increase the fuel efficiency of their truckfleet.
The goal was to increase fuel efficiency by 25 percent over the next ten years and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent in sevenyears.
Better than what the government isasking.
Walmart is working to reduce energy use in its stores by 30 percent and to cut solid waste by 25 percent in threeyears.
Eventually they will only use renewable energies and have zerowaste.
Alternative Fuels and Other Environmental Savings
Three experimental stores in McKinney, Texas, Aurora, Colorado and Las Vegas, Nevada, will use wind turbines, photovoltaic solar panels, bio-fuel-capable boilers, water-cooled refrigerators and xeriscape gardens.
Walmart is now the largest seller of organic milk and the largest purchaser of organic cotton in theworld.
Walmart hired outside consultants to study its impact on the environment and what they could be doingbetter.
They discovered that by reducing some packaging on their store brands they could save $2.4 million dollars in shipping costs, 3,800 trees, and a million barrels of oil peryear.
They also saved $20 million dollars a year by making their customer receipts shorter saving even moretrees.
Walmart has created Texas Retail Energy, its own electriccompany.
It will be able to not only supply its stores with affordable energy but will save $15 million annually and will also be able to sell excess energy to Texas consumers aswell.
Some FinalThoughts
Do you believe Walmart gives a crap about the environment? I dont either but I believe they care aboutprofits.
And if an unintended consequence of saving money also benefits the environment Walmart will be happy to take thecredit.
Walmart is far from a perfect company but its also making a positive effect in manyways.
Since many of the above facts are glossed over in the mainstream media in favor of hourly wages and employee benefits, many people are unaware of the saving to the economy and environment that Walmart is workingtoward.
What Walmart learns will eventually filter down to other businesses and will improve our economy and help our environment at the sametime.
Its a win-win for all ofus.
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Can Walmart Save The Planet from Climate Change? was originally published in Startup Stash on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
