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ILSR Press Room filed under Independent Business | Written by Nick Stumo-Langer | No Comments | Updated on Aug 1, 2017

Walmart aims high on lowering carbon footprint

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at https://ilsr.org/walmart-aims-high-on-lowering-carbon-footprint/

Marketplace – August 1, 2017 Written by Dan Boyce When the U.S. backed out of the Paris Climate Agreement earlier this year, many environmentalists were dismayed.  Many, however, are reassured by the fact that businesses are increasingly stepping up their game in terms of reducing their carbon footprint. In April, retail giant Walmart  announced a… Continue reading

Article, Resource filed under Independent Business | Written by Nick Stumo-Langer | No Comments | Updated on Jun 29, 2017

How Big Businesses Get Big Subsidies – Episode 23 of the Building Local Power Podcast

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at https://ilsr.org/big-businesses-big-subsidies-episode-23-of-the-building-local-power-podcast/

In the latest episode of Building Local Power, guest host Stacy Mitchell, ILSR’s co-director,  interviews Greg LeRoy, Executive Director of Good Jobs First. Good Jobs First promotes corporate and governmental accountability and smart economic development by shining a light on subsidies that local governments give to big corporations. The two discuss Good Jobs First’s research into… Continue reading

Featured Article, ILSR Press Room filed under General | Written by Nick Stumo-Langer | No Comments | Updated on Apr 19, 2017

Press Release: Walmart’s Climate Pollution Grows as It Scales Back Renewable Power

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at https://ilsr.org/press-release-walmart-climate-2017/

More than a decade after Walmart pledged to become an environmental leader, the company’s climate emissions continue to rise, according to data released today by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR).

ILSR found that Walmart has scaled back its renewable power projects in the U.S. The amount of renewable energy the company derives from its clean energy projects and special purchases fell by 16% since 2013. Walmart derives only 2.4% of the electricity it uses in the U.S. from its own renewable energy projects, down from nearly 3.2% in 2013. Meanwhile, Walmart’s greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. have risen 2% since 2013. Continue reading

Photo: Empty Walmart.
Featured Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 17, 2016

With 269 Stores Closing, Is this the Beginning of the End for Walmart?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at https://ilsr.org/with-269-stores-closing-is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-walmart/

All great retail empires eventually fall. A&P did. So did Montgomery Ward. But Walmart’s recent announcement that it would close 269 stores may not be an initial stumble on a path toward demise so much as a move to abandon communities that it has decided simply aren’t worth the trouble. We look at both the bad and the good fallout from Walmart’s pullback, and how its closures are best explained as a side effect of its main strategy for dominating the economy: overbuilding regions to the point of not just destroying competition but cannibalizing its own sales, while communities bear the consequences. Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Jun 3, 2015

Walmart Spews a Huge Amount of Climate Pollution with Its Shipping, but Doesn’t Report Any of It

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at https://ilsr.org/walmart-shipping-climate-pollution/

No company moves as much stuff across the world’s oceans as Walmart does, and the climate consequences are immense. Ferrying all those cheap TVs, T-shirts, toasters, and toys from Asian factories to ports in the U.S. and elsewhere releases huge amounts of greenhouse pollutants into the atmosphere, including both carbon dioxide (CO2) and black carbon. We’ve compiled a few key data points on shipping’s climate impact and Walmart’s dominance in the movement of goods across the world’s oceans. Continue reading

Photo: A Walmart Neighborhood Market.
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Walter Wuthmann | No Comments | Updated on Mar 23, 2015

Walmart Is Quietly Going on a Massive Building Spree

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at https://ilsr.org/walmart-quietly-massive-building-spree/

Having used its supercenters to capture one-quarter of U.S. grocery sales, Walmart is building a new wave of smaller stores that are poised to clean up the market share its supercenters don’t already control. Continue reading

Map: Walmart Square Footage per person in 2014.
Article, Resource filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Mar 23, 2015

New Maps Show Alarming Pace of Walmart’s Continued Growth

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at https://ilsr.org/alarming-pace-walmarts-continued-growth/

Walmart continues to expand, and rapidly. The company is now embarking on its third historic wave of store construction, with plans to build 440 to 460 “Neighborhood Market” stores over a two year period, presumably with many hundreds more to follow. There is a critical debate to be had right now about whether a company that already captures one-quarter of U.S. grocery sales should be allowed to grow to control one-third, or even half, of our food supply. Continue reading

Photo: Plastic bags at Walmart checkout line.
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Mar 5, 2015

Walmart’s New Green Product Label Is the Most Misleading Yet

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at https://ilsr.org/walmarts-misleading-green-product-label/

The Sustainability Leaders badge is straight out of Walmart’s 10-year-old greenwashing playbook. Once again, Walmart has engineered an appealing media story about itself as a green innovator that has little to do with reality. Continue reading

ILSR Press Room filed under Independent Business | Written by ILSR Admin | No Comments | Updated on Feb 24, 2015

Statement on Walmart’s Progress on Sustainability

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at https://ilsr.org/statement-walmart-sustainability-progress/

Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), issued the following statement on Walmart’s sustainability progress. Continue reading

Photo: San Francisco.
Featured Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 5, 2015

The Labor and Small Business Alliance Behind San Francisco’s Landmark Retail Workers Bill of Rights

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at https://ilsr.org/labor-small-business-alliance-san-franciscos-landmark-retail-workers-bill-rights/

The political interests of labor and small business are often seen as pitted against each other — a perception corporate lobbyists work hard to perpetuate. But the two groups actually share broad common cause these days. Both stand to gain from building a more humane economy in which ruthless efficiency does not trump all else. Continue reading