Wal-Mart Is Company Most Linked to in Blog Sustainability Discussions

Wal-Mart was the corporation most linked to in blog posts that mentioned sustainability between March 15, 2006 and March 15, 2007, according to the Nielsen BuzzMetrics Sustainability Monitor. 

Wal-Mart was mentioned in 1.77 percent of the 356,403 posts about sustainability evaluated, reports Environmental Leader (via MediaBuyerPlanner).

Whole Foods was right behind Wal-Mart, mentioned in 1.66 percent of the discussions. Whole Foods released only 10 press releases or so on sustainability topics, whereas Wal-Mart and its PR team at Edelman have issued about 50 press releases in the last 12 months on sustainability issues.

The rest of the corporations on the Nielsen BuzzMetrics chart:

3. Starbucks 1.26%
4. Toyota  0.64%
5. EnergyStar 0.20%
6. Goldman Sachs 0.15%
7. Lexus 0.15%
8. Trader Joes 0.14%
9. Bank of America 0.14%
10. Patagonia 0.11%
11. Aveda 0.07%
12. QualComm 0.02%
13. Ben and Jerry’s 0.01%
14. Enterprise Rent-A-Car 0.01%

GE, despite its Ecomagination marketing, isn’t on the list.

The 2007 ImagePower Green Brands Survey, conducted by WPP’s Landor Associates, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates and Cohn & Wolfe, found the following companies tagged by respondents as most green:

1. Whole Foods
2. Wild Oats
3. Trader Joe’s
4. Toyota
5. Honda
6. Sub Zero
7. Ikea
8. Body Shop
9. GE
10. Aveda

Wal-Mart didn’t make that list.

According to Nielsen BuzzMetrics, references to “sustainable” or “sustainability” were up 110% in March 2007 from March 2006. Among key findings from the Nielsen BuzzMetrics Sustainability Monitor in April:

• Sustainability discussion is tipping into mainstream; discussion sources go beyond environment/activist- focused topics. Key sustainability blogs rank among top 50 blogs overall and mainstream consumers are looking for ways to get involved.
• The topics driving sustainability discussion over the past year include environmental issues (23%); corporate initiatives (18%); government involvement (15%); economic activities (14%); and land development (13%).
• There is a fine line between being viewed as authentic in the support for sustainable practices and perceived as taking advantage of the “trendiness” of going green. Consumers are actively calling out “green-washing” by corporations perceived to be entering this space with the wrong intentions.