The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) defines Corporate Social Responsibility as “the continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community and society at large.”

So what does a company have to do then to bring about a major change, such as adopting a CSR program? For one thing, it requires a strong championing leader. In the case of the world’s largest public corporation by revenue (Fortune Global 500 report), it takes one magnanimous CEO by the name of H. Lee Scott Jr.

For years, Wal-Mart has been unfairly labeled as a company that demolishes unions before they can demand for employee benefits, eliminating smaller mom-and-pop stores, and draining suppliers through their costs. But through its recent strategic moves, Wal-Mart has shown it has heart and a social conscience as well.

Amidst protests to numerous unethical practices of Chinese companies, Scott made a stand. In a summit Scott led, Wal-Mart suppliers in China were instructed to comply with higher ethical and environmental standards.

The campaign doesn’t stop there. Wal-Mart is stirring change in Uzbekistan where cotton export is the main source of income. Cotton production is also a venue for Uzbek child labor. Uzbek children have no other choice but to work under inhumane conditions for minimal wages in order to support their families. In protest, Wal-Mart went as far as even declaring publicly that it pledged to stop buying Uzbek cotton. Until the authorities do something to rectify the injustice, Wal-Mart isn’t budging from this stance.

It is exactly this kind of fearless leadership that has earned Scott a spot in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2004 and 2005. Since his appointment as CEO for Wal-Mart in January 2000, the company has remained unshaken in its number one position as largest retailer in the world. Born and raised in Kansas, Scott began working for Wal-Mart in 1979 and will step down as Wal-Mart’s CEO on February 1st 2009.

Article source: Money.cnn.com.

Wa-Mart determined to lead in social responsibility.

Alice Walton, daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, is an active philanthropist through the Wal-Mart Foundation.

Tags: Wal-Mart