Rosemead Kiwanis Club    "Serving the Community Since 1945"

SPECIAL REPORT

 

WAL-MART MANAGER REVIEWS ROSEMEAD COMMUNITY IMPACT

Wal-Mart has continued its financial contributions to Rosemead area organizations, noted Kiwanian and Rosemead Supercenter Manager Jorge Lopez, in a recent speech before the Rosemead Kiwanis Club. The contributions are funded in batches as a percentage of store volume at various intervals during the year, with over $100,000 having been disbursed in the last twelve months to groups ranging from the Rice School RIF program to the Los Angeles Dream Center.

These contributions, however, are only one part of a broader effort by the store that focuses on numerous areas, including energy prices, international trade and U.S. health care costs, according to a speech made in January, 2008, by Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott as reported in Business Week..

Scott spoke before about 7,000 Wal-Mart store managers, including Jorge,  in Kansas City, where the company holds a convention center meeting at the start of every year to look at new products and sales plans for the year ahead.

 “Wal-Mart can take a leadership role, get out in front of the future and make a difference that is good for our business and the world,” Scott said, according to an advance copy of his remarks. He contrasted the store’s culture of action and innovation with the world of politics.

Scott said people are losing confidence in the ability of government to solve problems, but that at Wal-Mart “we don’t see the sidelines that politicians see. And we do not wait for someone else to solve problems that might hurt our business or affect our customers in a negative way.”

 Specifically, Scott laid out three areas for Wal-Mart’s attention.

 Energy: He said rising energy costs are hurting Wal-Mart customers, so the retailer will work with its suppliers to offer more energy-saving products. This will include making its most energy-intensive products, such as computers, microwaves and water heaters, 25 percent more efficient within three years. It will also seek to cut power use by the flat-screen televisions it sells by 30 percent by 2010.

 Environmental Defense, a group that works with Wal-Mart and other large corporations to improve their green practices, welcomed the new targets. “Lee Scott’s focus on energy efficiency and supply chain responsibility is right on. It goes to the heart of some of the biggest environmental challenges we’re facing,” said Gwen Ruta, director of corporate partnerships for the New York-based group. “We are anxious to see the structure behind it.”

 International Trade: Wal-Mart is launching an effort with other major retailers to improve social, ethical and environmental standards among its global suppliers. Wal-Mart will work with the international retail body CIES to come up with those standards and find a way to share joint auditing of foreign factories, which now are visited by inspectors from many individual customers. Specifically in China the company will work with the government to make sure suppliers comply with Chinese environmental laws.

 U.S. Health Care: Wal-Mart can help drive down the costs of prescriptions beyond the $4 generic drugs it has already introduced, Scott pointed out.  Wal-Mart will contract with “select employers” to help them manage their employee prescription claims and processing. It will also work with doctors to increase the number of electronic prescriptions, which it said will save costs compared to paper records, and introduce electronic health records for all its U.S. employees and retirees by the end of 2010.

 On the local scene, Wal-Mart is working on an ongoing basis with the Chamber of Commerce, Rosemead Kiwanis and other groups to help the community.