Bad Corporate Citizen

I admit it. I fell for the spin.

Last year I posted an item praising Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for its green strategy. The retailer has built a few stores using all sorts of energy-saving designs, and is pushing suppliers to use eco-friendly packaging, and I went out on a limb to say the company was demonstrating a long-term vision tied to the bottom line, exactly the kind of business decision that can make alt-energy policies viable.

Turns out it was mostly hype.

At the Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference last month, Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott Jr. all but admitted that the whole point of his company’s green push is mostly hype. “We are not green,” he said.

And despite its efforts to use alt-energy at a few stores, the company’s overall carbon emissions continue to climb, and Mr. Scott said that is unlikely to change since growing the company is his top priority, and other factors, like alternative energy, promoting the environment, saving the world, etc., are less important.

The best part: one conference attendee asked him when, if ever, Wal-Mart might meet its stated goal of eliminating waste and using only renewable energy. “I haven’t a clue,” Mr. Scott answered.

At least he was being honest.

As for me, I guess I can go back to trusting my gut instincts when multinational corporations try to claim they are doing good.