Walmart Values Sustainability Stories, Even Once Removed
Many of us have been closely watching Walmart’s recent moves toward sustainability and more “green” practices, and it does seem like their aim is true (love that line, Mr. Costello). The latest in their efforts, as reported by the Associated Press, is that the retailer is now making bigger demands of its suppliers – along the lines of wanting to know the sustainable stories behind the products they’ll be stocking on their shelves.
This storytelling, once removed, is a great approach. It opens up so many more chapters (as it were), and can give amazingly effective extra depth to Walmart’s corporate green narrative. Here’s an excerpt about their strategy (from the AP piece):
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is telling its suppliers that it’s not enough to simply provide eco-friendly products. The world’s largest retailer wants to be able to tell its customers the stories behind the products, of how they came to be and how sustainable they are.
Rand Waddoups, senior director of corporate strategy and sustainable development, said the company has a strategy with four points of emphasis for its sustainability marketing. Wal-Mart wants to promote waste reduction and recycling, natural resources, energy and social or community impact.
“We need to fill the pipeline with products,” Waddoups said. “Not only do we need more innovative products, but we need to be able to tell a story around that product.”
In a world, or store, of so much abundance, how will consumers increasingly make their decisions? In this particular case, consumers are telling Walmart that they need to see a deep commitment to the environment, including the whys and hows behind each decision. That could cover everything from the retailer’s mission to build stores in a more sustainable way to its selection process for the apparel, tool and garden supply (and so much more) products it sells.
Will the average shopper read a bullet pointed list about those things? No. That’s where story comes in.
