With over 10,500 stores and clubs in 19 countries and eCommerce websites, Walmart’s influence over the food and retail industry has risen tenfold in the last decade. Its environmental impact is just as massive. In 2020, the company emitted 15.93 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. 2021 saw a step down from this figure at 13.99 million metric tons — working towards a goal of net zero by 2040.
It’s a commitment that chief sustainability officer Kathleen McLaughlin believes is completely addressable.
“It was really informed by a deeper understanding 10, 15, 20 years ago, even about the impact of climate change,” she explained at a recent talk. “And obviously, as a pervasive, secular risk that is affecting every part of society, it matters at many levels for business, for our customers, and for our communities.”
McLaughlin addressed Walmart’s ESG strategy in a fireside chat at the 2023 Goldman Sachs Global Sustainability Forum. She highlighted four key areas under its ESG efforts: economic opportunities for its workers and suppliers; enhancing sustainability of its retail operations and supply chain; strengthening communities; and ethics and integrity as an international business.
Addressing Walmart’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions
In terms of sustainability, electricity takes up the most significant part of Walmart’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions, with McLaughlin noting efforts to find a feasible solution.
“Refrigeration is technically possible, but incredibly complex at our scale to convert to low global warming potential refrigerants in our entire fleet globally,” she said. “That’s not going to be easy, and we’re still experimenting with different technologies. But we think it’s doable.”
On-site fuels are easier to address — re-chickening gas-fired cookers as well as looking into generators and transportation are just some strategies.
“I think our challenge is going to be how to make progress as a sector on measuring a comprehensive footprint, getting better data, finding ways to store and validate it and everything else without completely distracting from the exercise of decarbonizing the heavy concentrations of emissions.”
Regarding transportation, McLaughlin noted that the company has taken steps towards enhancing energy efficiency for its last-mile fleet. Last summer, Walmart disclosed that it intended to purchase 4,500 all-electric delivery vehicles from EV manufacturer Canoo to meet the growing e-commerce needs in 2023.
Its heavy tractors are more of a challenge. “We don’t have the technology today given our loads and the distances that we run those trucks,” she said. “Today’s battery technology, EV — that’s not going to do it. So there needs to be innovation there.” She added that the company would be looking into fuel cell power.
The facet McLaughlin is most excited about is its EV charging expansion. “We already have a pretty robust network at Walmart, over 250 sites across the country, but we’ve committed to thousands more,” she shared.
“They’re going to be fast chargers, so it will be great and attractive for customers. They come and plug in. And even if it takes 15 or 20 minutes, they can come into the store and pick up a few groceries. So it makes a lot of sense for us to do this and it’s a natural extension of our automotive care business.”
Measuring Scope 3 emissions
Scope 3 emissions have always been a challenge for Walmart to measure. A lack of item-level emissions data and subsequent difficulty in charting a comprehensive footprint analysis is central to this.
Instead, McLaughlin is directing its focus on taking immediate action to decarbonize its supply chain, as well as those typical of similar companies. One such way is through Project Gigaton, which shares best practices, playbooks, summits, knowledge exchange, advice and other resources with suppliers to help them make science-based progress on reducing emissions. Walmart has helped over 5,000 suppliers to date.
Moving forward, McLaughlin expects the reporting of one’s total footprint to continue being a challenge.
“For a retailer like us, we have 400 million items … that we sell between in-person and online,” she explained. “There isn’t a data set about the comprehensive Scope 3 of every single one of those items, especially when you consider how customers use them.
“I think our challenge is going to be how to make progress as a sector on measuring a comprehensive footprint, getting better data, finding ways to store and validate it and everything else without completely distracting from the exercise of decarbonizing the heavy concentrations of emissions,” she said.
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