Shared Value Approach adopted by Walmart - An Analysis

This report intends to discuss the concept of shared value which is a rising approach in the corporate responsibility arena and an increasing number of firms are getting involved in this to improve their corporate citizenship. This report has taken into consideration the share value approach adopted by Walmart and its analysis.

Walmart is a well-known multinational retail corporation of America that is involved in the operation of discount stores, hypermarkets, and grocery stores with headquarter in Bentonville, Arkansas. 1962 was the year when the company was established by Sam Walton (Walmart Inc., 2020b). The company is also involved in operating the Club retail warehouses of Sam. As per the 2019 reports, Walmart holds around 11,438 stores across the world (Walmart, 2020).

Shared value is a part of social responsibility but considered to be a new means of attaining economic gain in the market by the businesses. It is also called as the management strategy through which businesses search for opportunities from the social problems (Shared Value Initiative, 2020). While CSR and philanthropy concentrate on the efforts of “giving back” or decreasing the business harm on the society, but shared value concentrate on the leaders of the company on increasing the value of resolving the problems in the society in a new way such as cost-saving, retention, etc. Many of the businesses are now focusing on rebuilding their models of the business across social goods, which helps them in attaining competitive advantage against their competitors (Liel, 2016).

Walmart is aimed towards using its strength and work together with others for the transformation of the system on which the business can rely upon, including proceeding their determined commitments and objectives in the precedence areas of opportunity, community, and sustainability. The company believes that its operations in these areas not just benefit the bottom line, but also contribute to creating shared values for the society and customers (Shared Value, 2020).

The business of Walmart is existing in the market to serve society. Being the largest grocer across the world, Walmart is involved in offering suitable access to reasonable food and many other products to people present all over the world. The business is doing this in numerous ways which are providing them support in creating economic opportunity, improve environmental sustainability for a longer duration, and strengthening the local communities (Walmart Inc., 2020a). This shared approach is accompanied by the philanthropic investments of Walmart.org, which concentrate on the areas where they make use of their strengths, expertise and work together with others to bring change in the wide system.  

Shared Value of Walmart

Changing of System

Walmart is working with its stakeholders in order to redesign the entire system to attain the major and long-term development in the economic, social, and environmental outcomes. For instance, improving the environmental sustainability of the supply chain by identifying their social as well as economic scopes (3BL Media, 2017).  

Creating Shared Value

The company focus on creating value for all the stakeholders and society because share values improve the viability as well as the quality of the solutions (3BL Media, 2017).

Leading Through Business

The company is working to integrate its environmental and social priorities in their day to day business activities like store operations, technology, merchandising, human resources, logistics, and sourcing by the use of leadership practices, operational tools as well as procedures.

Actions Taken by Walmart

Walmart is successfully making a difference in the business environment as well as society by using their strengths. The strength of the company is comprised of its 2.3 million global associates, acquiring of apparel and food, marketing, merchandising, capabilities in logistics, supplier relationship, marketing, etc. (3BL Media, 2017)

Use of Philanthropy

The company is extending the influence of the environmental and social initiative by the philanthropic efforts. By the use of cash girls and in-kind, company and Walmart Foundation give around $1 billion on yearly basis for the projects that general opportunity, improve sustainability, and reinforce the community (3BL Media, 2017).

Since last ten years, Walmart is focusing on its three aspirational goals set by it related to sustainability: selling products that sustain their environment and resources, running the business with 100% renewable energy, and creating zero waste (Informes, 2018).

Opportunity

Offering training and job opportunity that can become careers for their associates

• Working on the investment of $2.7 billion that has been made by the company in training, wages, and education for their millions of contacts in the United States and focusing on achieving:

1. Become the priority for the job seekers
2. Offering a successful path for the development of career

• Quickening the frontline retail worker's mobility beyond Walmart
• Endorsing the inclusion, variety, and culture at Walmart
• Providing support to the economic enclosure in the societies and supply chains

Supporting the small, diverse, and local business development

• Sourcing of additional products in the local area as well as across the world, comprising their goal to source the products of around $250 billion (Walmart, 2017).
• Supporting in offering more job opportunities to the Americans by the year 2023
• Providing support to small and local farmers
• Increasing the growth of diverse suppliers and women-owned suppliers
• Supporting the growth of small businesses

Sustainability

Decreasing the use of energy and emission in the environment

• To operate the 50% of the business with the renewable energy by the year 2025
• Decreasing the carbon emission from their business operations by 18%

Eliminating waste from the operations

• Avoiding through waste to the landfill by attaining zero waste in their processes in Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States by the year 2025. This commitment has been developed within the business to meet the code of conduct. introduced by the International Zero Waste Alliance

Enhancing the sustainability in Walmart’s Value Chain

• Encouraging transparent in their value chain
• Decreasing the negative environmental impact of the business

1. Working together with the suppliers for decreasing 1 Gigaton of the emissions from 2015 and 2030.
2. Increasing the commodity sourcing that is manufactured by the zero-net deforestation by 2020.
3. Increasing and improving the sustainable sourcing
4. Making use of 100% biodegradable packaging of its private products (Walmart, 2017).
5. Working with the suppliers for decreasing packaging and production waste and supporting in the preservation of natural resources.

Making affordable and healthier products

1. Increasing the sales of the products manufactured in the U.S.
2. Decreasing saturated fat, sugar, and sodium from the products
3. Working together with the suppliers of their private products in the market to eliminate the artificial flavors that are added in the products.

Respecting the worker’s dignity

• In order to contribute in the Responsible Recruitment, Walmart is becoming the part of the Leadership Group, which is a collaboration of business and NGO partners working for legal recruitment and respectful treatment of the workforces at the global level.

Community

Supporting in relieving hunger

• Meeting the commitment of the business of donating 4 billion meals to fight from hunger in 2020 and reinforce the system of charitable meal.

Improving the resilience in the face of disasters

• The contribution of around $25 million by Walmart and its foundation for disaster reprieve and resiliency across the world from the year 2016 and 2021 (Walmart, 2017).

Developing the local communities

• Providing support to the community engagement
• Involving customers and associates for supporting others (Walmart, 2017)

Conclusion

From the above analysis, it can be said that the initiative of Walmart by creating a shared value approach seems to be focusing on the development of community and environment. The company is involved in offering job opportunities to Americans, reducing its carbon emission from the environment, and providing training to the workers for their career development. In all, this initiative is providing benefits to all its stakeholders.

References

3BL Media. (2017). Shared Value is the Walmart Approach to Global Responsibility. Retrieved from https://www.3blmedia.com/News/Shared-Value-Walmart-Approach-Global-Responsibility

Informes. (2018). Shared Value creation model. Retrieved from https://informes.walmex.mx/2018/en/shared-value-creation-model/

Liel, B.V. (2016). Creating Shared Value as Future Factor of Competition: Analysis and Empirical Evidence 1^st ed. Germany: Springer.

Shared Value Initiative. (2020). Business At Its Best. Retrieved from https://www.sharedvalue.org/about-shared-value

Shared Value. (2020). Walmart. Retrieved from https://www.sharedvalue.org/partners/funding-partners/walmart

Walmart. (2017). Global Responsibility Report. Retrieved from https://cdn.corporate.walmart.com/95/08/2d1f094c430186c299788ac1935b/wmt-2017-grr-report-final.pdf

Walmart Inc. (2020a). What we do? Retrieved from https://walmart.org/what-we-do

Walmart Inc. (2020b). Our History. Retrieved from https://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-history

Walmart. (2020). About Us. Retrieved from https://corporate.walmart.com/our-story