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  3. (1)All around the world, shoppers flock to Wal-Mart to buy everything from s

(1)All around the world, shoppers flock to Wal-Mart to buy everything from s

游客2024-11-21  8
问题     (1)All around the world, shoppers flock to Wal-Mart to buy everything from socks to sofa beds. In McKinney, Texas, they come for another reason: to see the wind turbine. Rising 120 ft. above the ground, it’s the tallest structure in town and supplies 5% of the store’s electricity. It’s not the only thing that makes this Wal-Mart a green giant. There are photovoltaic shingles on the roof, exterior walls coated with heat- reflective paint and a high-tech system that automatically dims or raises the lights depending on whether it’s sunny or overcast. Brent Allen, who manages the experimental store, says customers tell him all the time that "they drove out of their way to shop at this Wal-Mart." Which makes you wonder: If folks drive farther man they have to, aren’t they burning extra gasoline in their pickups and SUVs? And isn’t that offsetting the store’s energy savings?
    (2)The laws of unintended consequences can be cruel for companies trying to do the right thing. The laws of economics suggest that Wal-Mart is so big, with 5,200 stores worldwide, that it influences everything from the price of lumber to the size of the container your laundry detergent comes in. And if this retailing giant throws its weight behind environmental responsibility, the impact could be profound: less air pollution at factories in China, mass-market sales of organic products, cereal boxes that aren’t half filled with air. "One little change in product packaging could save 1,500 trees," says Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. "If everybody saves 1,500 trees or 50 barrels of oil, at the end of the day you have made a huge difference."
    (3)Scott wants Wal-Mart to do its part too. He has promised to cut greenhouse-gas emissions at existing stores 20% over the next few years and pledged to construct new stores that are 25% to 30% more efficient. He wants Wal-Mart’s fleet of more than 7,000 trucks to get twice as many miles per gallon by 2015. Factories that show Wal-Mart they’re cutting air pollution—even those in China—will get preferential treatment in the supply chain. Wal-Mart says it’s working with consumer-product manufacturers to trim their packaging and will reward those that do so with prime real estate on the shelves. Scott has pledged to enlist Wal-Mart’s army of lobbyists to push for pro-environmental policy changes in Washington, including incentives for utilities to cut greenhouse gases.
    (4)Cynics might call it a "greenwash", a bid to deflect attention from Wal-Mart’s controversial labor and health-insurance practices. But it’s not just window dressing, because Wal-Mart sees profit in going green. "We are not being altruistic," says Scott. "This is a business philosophy, not a social philosophy." Some top environmentalists seem convinced he’s serious, including Amory Lovins, head of the Rocky Mountain Institute, who is a paid adviser. "We don’t go where we don’t think there’s a genuine interest in change," says Lovins.
    (5)There’s no question that soaring energy costs are fueling Wal-Mart’s conservation drive. The company now insists that truckers shut off their engines when stopping for a break, yielding estimated savings of $25 million a year. By doubling the gas mileage of the fleet through better aerodynamics and lower-friction tires, Wal-Mart expects to pocket $310 million a year. One of the biggest items on its energy bill is lighting. Instead of going with the cheapest bulbs, the company is experimenting with costlier LED strips for refrigeration units that last longer and use less energy. Scott also wants to sell more organically grown food and cotton clothing, partly because it’s good for the planet, partly because he believes he can get prices down and boost sales to low-income customers.
    (6)Like Bill Gates, who started his charitable foundation shortly after Microsoft’s antitrust trial, Scott happens to be burnishing Wal-Mart’s image at a time when his company’s reputation is under siege. He acknowledges that he launched the plan partly to shield Wal-Mart from bad press about its contribution to global warming. "By doing what we’re doing today you avoid the headline risks that are going to come for people who did not do anything," he says. "At some point businesses will be held accountable for the actions they take." Meanwhile, should Wal-Mart succeed at shrinking its environmental footprint and lowering prices for green products, both the planet and the company will profit. Sam Walton would have liked that. [br] What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?
选项
答案 It elaborates the purpose of Wal—Mart’s greening plan．
解析 最后一段第1句以Bill Gates为例，引出后面关于沃尔玛发起绿色行动计划的目的，所以本段的主要内容就是阐释沃尔玛该项绿色行动的目的。
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