Everyone knows that Wal-Mart is a great place for getting good stuff cheap. But for buying, say, organic cotton clothes in energy-efficient stores delivered by earth-friendly trucks at a price that won’t break the back of a financially struggling consumer? Yes, says company executive Lawrence Jackson.

Wal-Mart is working to create environmentally aware, socially responsible business practices and products across the entire world of its operations. The social responsibility part includes keeping products affordable to the millions of low and middle-income consumers who form the bulk of its customer base.

Jackson, former president and CEO of Wal-Mart’s global procurement division, asked his Stanford audience to consider whether the movement pushing for social and environmental responsibility in businesses is a racially and economically segregated one. Typically, he said, it is the more affluent who promote it––and who can afford to purchase its products. “I can make financial tradeoffs, like buying a more expensive hybrid car, but what about those who can’t?” said the executive, bringing to bear his own perspectives as someone who had grown up in the inner city of Washington, D.C.

The reality of what Jackson called a “bifurcated” economy in the United States––one in which “haves” are separated from “have-nots”––presents a huge company like Wal-Mart, where “economies of scale” are the order of the day, with tremendous opportunities for making a positive impact on the planet. Speaking to more than 200 supply chain management experts gathered at the Stanford Graduate School of Business to exchange ideas and best practices aimed at making the global supply chain more sustainable, Jackson said that Wal-Mart has made a commitment to capitalize on its efficiencies to make “green” cost less.