History of Wal-Mart

Individual Corporate Social Responsibility Assignment: Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in 1945 in Newport, Arkansas. He started out with a small variety store which he was able to open with the help of his father-in-law who loaned him the money to do so. That small variety store held up the principles that we are custom to seeing at a Wal-Mart today; open later than other stores, a wide variety of goods, and most importantly, prices were as low as possible. Today, Wal-Mart has over 5,100 outlets open in the United States alone, while there are over 6,000 open to 13 different countries worldwide. They currently have over 2 million workers employed. Wal-Mart can be described as a supermarket, as it sells a wide variety of goods, from appliances to electronics, clothing, daily needs, and food.

According to Fortune 500, as of 2013, Wal-Mart is the largest corporation in the United States, with over $469 billion in revenue, which almost matches the GDP of Denmark. It is clear that the existence of Wal-Mart has made an impact in the environment and natural resources, so it began renovations in 2005 which helped them become more eco-friendly. To begin, new branches were opened which produced less greenhouse gases and save more energy. Furthermore, many of its existing branches have been equipped with solar panels, as well as fuel saving technology into its vehicles, and improved its delivery routes in order to save fuel.

In 2012, Wal-Mart has claimed their dedication to corporate social responsibility, which they agreed upon due to globalization. In 2013, Wal-Mart began to implement initiatives which revolved around 4 key concepts: social responsibility, local responsibility, environmental responsibility, and company responsibility. Through social responsibility they began to promote women's economic empowerment as well as give customers access to healthier food choices. Through local responsibilities, Wal-Mart would give out loans, reach...