Wal-Mart CEO is a Master of the Obvious: Our Company is Not Green

I have to give credit to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott Jr. for pointing out one of the more obvious things around- Wal-Mart is NOT Green. We’re talking about a corporation that has a bigger environmental impact than most nations and whose entire business model is built on making cheap crap on one side of the world and then shipping it to the other side to sell for a percent or two more. They are a gas guzzling, land eating, profits hungry corporate beast.

They have recently embraced the goal of becoming powered by 100% renewable energy and creating zero waste- a fine and noble goal with as much likelihood of happening as my plan of becoming all-knowing and all-powerful. It’s not going to happen in my lifetime, and I plan on living through my 90’s.

Lee made his comments owning up to Wal-Mart’s lack of true Green at the ECO:nomics conference recently held in California. I found the story over at the Wall Street Journals blog and nearly choked when I read the first sentence:

Lee Scott Jr. has earned a reputation as something of an environmental guru for actions he has taken over the past few years in getting Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to green up its act.

Show me someone who thinks Lee Scott Jr. is an environmental guru and I’ll show you someone who thinks George Bush is a great President. Lee appears to be a somewhat enlightened corporate suit at the head of one of the most sprawling companies on the face of the planet looking to use green to boost his margins. That’s fine- the world needs those enlightened suits- but only in the Bizarro World could the guy be called an “environmental guru”.

Here’s a quick three minute video of Mr. Scott’s interview:

Link [Wall Street Journal]

Photo credit: Flickr user Code Poet