Would you believe Wal-Mart is out to make the world a greener place…through radically altered business practices. And their looking for just the right person to help them do this (via two steps forward)
Turns out, Wal-Mart engaged Environmental Defense about a year ago, when the company embarked on a new environmental initiative.
Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's CEO, had just given a speech on "twenty-first century leadership" (download - PDF), where he acknowledged that:
"As one of the largest companies in the world, with an expanding global presence, environmental problems are OUR problems."
He set forth three ambitious environmental goals: that Wal-Mart be supplied 100% by renewable energy, that it create "zero waste," and that it sell products "that sustain our resources and environment."
The job, formally titled "Corporate Partnerships Project Manager - Wal-Mart," symbolizes a sea change in environmental activism. Environmental Defense is positioning someone in Bentonville — not to confront or watchdog Wal-Mart, but to work with the company as a kind of sustainability consultant.
The ideal candidate, says Environmental Defense, is someone who would never have imagined moving to Arkansas, but who understands the potential for this job to influence a $315 billion retail behemoth and its 60,000 suppliers — arguably, to have as much direct environmental impact as any activist or consultant ever could.
By Ken Stokes kauaian.net/blog
