If we do the right thing, does it matter why we chose to do it? Skeptics, cynics and conspiracy theorists may not like it, but when a brand does something that is, in balance, a good thing, motive shouldn’t matter. Take Wal-Mart, for instance, though any major brand with a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative is a prime candidate for this argument. Businesses are in the business of making money, and however well-intentioned it may be, if can’t push any sort of “socially responsible” agenda if it goes broke. Wal-Mart is a lightning rod for criticism, and anyone who has seen The High Cost of Low Price is familiar with the company’s litany of issues. But, as Martin LaMonica writes for CNET, the company has “pushed forward with a risky sustainability initiative at a time when its public image was suffering.” Should we still celebrate the company’s decision to invest in renewable energy at store, reduce waste in packaging, create a “sustainability index” of its suppliers and other positive and industry-changing initiatives despite its former CEO Lee Scott now claiming the company’s rationale for “going green” was purely economic? Yes.

Brands are increasingly seeing the economic benefits of “going green,” though you hardly need an MBA to recognize that “efficiency” reduces waste and increases profit. But Scott’s comments, that these decisions were pure business decisions, were suprisingly frank. “The effort has endured because the motivation was purely economic, said Scott, who was the first featured speaker at the Fortune Brainstorm Green green business conference here on Monday. If it had been done to repair its image, the company would have likely scaled back during the economic downturn last year.”

“What Wal-Mart has done is approach this from a business stand point and not from a point of altruism. If we as a company focus on waste, we can make Wal-Mart a better company and at the same time, become a better citizen,” he said.

LaMonica explains, “the first project within the sustainability push was started by an executive who figured out how to reduce packaging in a Wal-Mart-branded toy. That change eliminated the need for 215 shipping containers. From there, it spread to the point where now people who don’t have an environmentally oriented initiative in the company are “outliers,” Scott said.

These initiatives resonated with consumer expectations, “particularly the 25- and 35-year-old buyers,” Scott said.

Critics are quick to point out that Wal-Mart is the largest private consumer of electricity in the U.S., and with more than $400 billion in annual revenue, its “green” efforts pale in comparison the damaging impact of their stores on the environment. But, as LaMonica points out, “large businesses create demand for green-technology products, which helps bring down the cost of energy-related products, such as solar panels, or consumer goods, such as organic foods.” Doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing is something we should each aspire to, but waiting for global brands to make decisions that way…we’re bound to be waiting a long time.

[Source: LTT, CNET]