Wal-Mart is most improved

Wal-Mart made the best progress on corporate responsibility issues in the retail industry last year, according the annual industry report from the Geneva-based reputational research company Covalence.

A year ago Wal-Mart was in last place in the worldwide ranking of 27 companies, but now finds itself in third place, behind only Marks and Spencer and Home Depot.

In 2005 Wal-Mart embarked on a wide-ranging CSR programme after its chief executive Lee Scott announced he had been converted to the cause.
Covalence’s ranking system is based on a survey of documents found among media, enterprise, NGO and other sources. The retailer report specifically tracked ethical reputations in online media.

Although Wal-Mart remained by far the most criticized company in its sector, receiving 48 per cent of negative news naming retailers, it also had the highest quantity of positive news – and it was this that allowed the US giant to rank so highly in the 2008 rankings.