Walmart

Helped Walmart launch a comprehensive sustainability program with major commitments to zero waste, sustainable product sales, and renewable energy. The controversial move shifted Walmart toward becoming the largest seller of organic food and efficient light bulbs.

In 2005, after I gave 'Is Environmentalism Dead?' at the Commonwealth Club of California, something unexpected happened. The speech found its way to the board of directors at Walmart.

Their response was direct: if I thought the environmental movement had failed to match the scale of the problem, could Walmart use its own scale to help make sustainability mainstream?

That was always going to be controversial. Fast Company's cover story was titled 'He Sold his Soul to Walmart.' Some friends thought it was a betrayal. Others thought it was a chance to move one of the most powerful companies in the world.

• Strategy for Sustainability
• Is Environmentalism Dead?
• Saatchi & Saatchi S