Walmart’s ‘green’ website raises awareness of sustainability efforts

Research revealed that many Walmart customers were unaware of the retailer’s sustainability goals and achievements, and green critics were skeptical if it was making sufficient progress.

To expand awareness, enhance reputation, and counter detractors, Walmart created The Green Room (WGR). 

The site’s success captured the 2013 PR Daily Award for Best Green Initiative. 

Execution

Here’s a snapshot of some of the steps Walmart’s sustainability team took to build awareness and traffic to its site: 

• They began to write sustainability-focused posts on Walmart’s Facebook page, in addition to posting green-friendly graphics such as “Which green superhero are you?”
• They created the @WalmartGreen handle to promote blog posts, Facebook graphics, and sustainability happenings.
• They partnered with Mother Nature Network and launched a Pinterest contest to gain third-party credibility. Consumers pinned green products from Walmart.com. There were more than 400 contest submissions, 1,500 repins, 700 likes, and 100 comments.

Results

Walmart surpassed all of its goals. Among the impressive results: The retailer’s blog traffic surged 920 percent, it gained 6,500 Twitter followers in five months, it boosted its rank on Newsweek’s U.S. Green Rankings 11 positions to number 41, and it garnered more than 69 percent referral traffic—30 percent from Facebook and Pinterest alone.

Visit The Green Room here.

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