Wal-Mart Pledging Environmental Reinvention, But Doesn't Include Suppliers In Its Emissions Totals

[hatrack]

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But some criticize Walmart’s zero emissions goal for not including the company’s supply chain, which accounts for the vast majority of Walmart’s overall climate impact. “Without that, drastic emissions reduction will never happen,” said Souparna Lahiri, co-author of a report on net zero by Corporate Accountability Initiative. McLaughlin said that Walmart’s zero emissions goal combined with Project Gigaton, to which more than 3,100 suppliers have signed up, is in line with what the company needs to contribute to the a collective goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Both Hyatt and Fischweicher said Walmart has been consistent in considering its supply chain. It’s one of the few companies that asks its suppliers to disclose information about their impact on deforestation, said Fischweicher, which can be “immensely powerful when you think about the palm oil, timber, cattle, soy, that end up in the products on Walmart’s shelves.”

However, the company still faces serious questions about its impacts. A February investigation by the Guardian found that Walmart along, with other big retailers, was selling beef linked to deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon forest – a difficult revelation for a corporation that had just announced months prior it aimed to become a “regenerative” company committed to sourcing sustainable products and encouraging better agriculture practices. Responding at the time, Walmart said it takes the “allegations seriously and will review the claims made”. A spokesperson told the Guardian that the retailer aims to source 100% deforestation free beef, engaging with suppliers as well as using aerial verification tools to meet this goal.

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Navigating the inherent difficulties of reconciling its sustainability aims with a business model based on providing increasing amounts of low-priced products to a growing customer base is a challenge Walmart can’t escape and it’s one McLaughlin acknowledges.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/13/walmart-climate-change-plan-can-it-work

[Kaleva]

1. Nor does Walmart include customers