It’s a brave company that opens itself up the to virtual community. Especially in the area of sustainability. Why? Because not many companies (if any?) can claim to be 100% sustainable, therefore they are up for criticism.
So it is interesting, and refreshing, that a massive company like Walmart would take the brave step in their new blog The Green Room. They are doing this because they have set meaningful targets around sustainability and are prepared to be held accountable (or so it seems…). They want to create meaningful dialogue with their customers (and some of the responses are VERY heartfelt).
Makes me wonder whether Australian supermarkets are up for the challenge. Me thinks not….
And why? I remember when I was working for a not-for-profit organisation that aimed to engage the big corporates through consumer based initiatives. Basically – ‘provide an incentive for your customers to get involved in what you are doing around sustainability’. While conducting this work I met with one of the big two supermarket chains and was so crazily upset at their lack of vision and their insistence on the status quo.
It honestly seemed like a big joke and very tokenistic.
What Walmart, through their ambitious goals (for example being powered 100% by renewable energy) is telling other major supermarket chains is – you’ve got nothing to lose by going down this path! Walmart are into making a profit and driving business growth. It’s that whole capitalism equation. So why would they risk profit through pushing a sustainability agenda? They wouldn’t. And they aren’t. And copping a little criticism online is only going to strengthen the image of transparency and openness so essential in today’s cynical world.
Walmart are by no means a beacon of sustainability. Many blogs are filled with criticism of their labour practices (pushing part-time instead of full-time so they don’t have to pay benefits like health insurance etc) and at the end of the day their job is to sell cheap consumer items – as many as they can – that will probably be garbage in the very near future.
They have a long way to go, it’s undeniable. But they are out there answering questions, attempting transparency and engaging with their customers. I don’t think it could be a bad thing. When the new blogging initiative was announced they were canned by Treehugger and other similar online outlets – totally expected. But perhaps unexpectedly they responded to these online attacks in their own blog.
The question remains – are Australian supermarket chains in a position to, or willing to, engage with their customers in a similar way? If they did – what would you like to ask them?
- Why are you still giving away free plastic bags?
- You say this is the ‘fresh food’ section – but how long has this produce been in cold storage?
- Why can’t I buy any organic food that isn’t the Coles brand? Where did the other suppliers go?
Oh my – the list could go on and on!! What’s your question?
Image credit: Ron Dauphin via Flickr
