Force of Nature

Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart's Green Revolution - Edward Humes

From Amazon: "Wal-Mart—long the target of local businesses, labor advocates, and environmentalists who deplore its outsourced, big-box methods—has embraced an unprecedented green makeover, which is now spreading worldwide. The retail giant that rose from Sam Walton's Ozarks dime store is leveraging the power of 200 million weekly customers to drive waste, toxics, and carbon emissions out of its stores and products. Neither an act of charity nor an empty greenwash, Wal-Mart's green move reflects its river guide's simple, compelling philosophy: that the most sustainable, clean, energy-efficient, and waste-free company will beat its competitors every time. Not just in some distant, utopian future but today"

This book really changed my view of Wal-Mart. It's still not my favourite place in the world to shop, but knowing that they actually have taken a huge step towards becoming sustainable, and with that step, have started to change the face of consumerism is really incredible. I'm still not saying that Wal-Mart is the best place in the world to shop - small, independent stores will always be much better, but I think I'll feel much less guilty when I actually end up there.

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about sustainability and the different ways that it can show up in a business. It was also interesting from an economics perspective - Wal-Mart really does have power over a lot of people, and they hold enough of a market share of things to change. Hopefully more companies will take the challenge set forth by Wal-Mart and try their best to be more sustainable too!