Retailer will provide more convenient access to reusable bags for
purchase at U.S. stores and continues to make progress towards its goals
to work with suppliers to avoid greenhouse gas emissions across global
value chains
BENTONVILLE, Ark.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, at its 2019 sustainability milestone summit, Walmart announced
that for the first time, checkout carousels at its U.S. stores will
include reusable bags that will be available to customers for purchase.
The aim of this new campaign is to help reduce plastic waste and
increase customer convenience by placing reusable bags in easy to find
and highly frequented sections of its stores. As part of the launch,
Walmart is rolling out a new assortment of reusable bags that are made
with post-consumer recycled content.
The new reusable bag initiative will begin rolling out to stores next
month and follows a recent announcement
by Walmart on a series of plastic waste reduction goals that seek to
advance the sustainability of the retailer’s private brand packaging by
making it 100 percent recyclable, reusable or industrially compostable
by 2025.
This year’s milestone summit also featured announcements and updates on
several other sustainability initiatives. For example, the event marks
the two-year anniversary of Project Gigaton, a platform in which Walmart
is working with suppliers to avoid 1 billion metric tons, a gigaton, of
emissions from global value chains by 2030. As part of the summit,
Walmart Canada announced it is joining Project Gigaton, making it
Walmart Inc.’s third international market to work with suppliers towards
emissions reductions.
In the first two years of Project Gigaton, many suppliers are already
delivering results on their goals and report avoiding more than 93
million metric tons of emissions toward the one gigaton goal. Emissions
totals are calculated in accordance with Walmart’s Project
Gigaton Accounting Methodology. In an effort to make it
easier to enlist more suppliers to the growing total of over 1,000
suppliers participating in the platform, Walmart also announced that it
would publish its Project Gigaton Calculators, which are designed by
Walmart and NGOs for suppliers to use in reporting progress toward the
Project Gigaton goal.
“We are encouraged by the engagement of our suppliers in Project
Gigaton,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, senior vice president and chief
sustainability officer for Walmart Inc. “To achieve our ambitious
climate goals, we aim to expand and deepen that engagement. The progress
to date shows how companies can contribute to climate action through
practical actions all along the product supply chain. Ultimately,
building sustainable supply chains requires collective action from
everyone – not only our associates and suppliers, but customers,
business in general, and civil society. We are excited to be part of the
solution.”
Reinforcing Commitment to Sustainable Textiles
During the milestone summit, Walmart shared an update on its responsible
sourcing work alongside NGOs, industry groups, governments and
suppliers, with the aspiration to improve the lives of workers in the
global apparel supply chain with a particular focus on women. Walmart
also shared new sustainability goals for apparel and soft home textiles
within Walmart U.S. stores, including:
-
Sourcing More Sustainable Fibers: Walmart will increase the use
of recycled polyester fiber, setting a goal of using 50% recycled
content by 2025 and to source 100% more sustainable cotton. -
Reducing Manufacturing Impact: By 2022, Walmart U.S. stores
will source apparel and home textile products only from suppliers
working with textile mills that use the Sustainable Apparel
Coalition’s Higg Index Facility Environmental Module (FEM) to measure
and help improve environmental performance. Walmart will also
prioritize sustainable chemistry, setting a goal to reduce the
discharge of priority chemicals from the textile manufacturing process.
Progress in Electric Vehicle Charging Station Expansion, Renewable
Energy Leadership
Walmart continues to make progress in its efforts to increase the
availability of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at it stores and
clubs across the U.S. As of 2018, Walmart has EV chargers available at
retail locations across 29 states.
Walmart also outlined its progress towards its aspirational goal of
being powered by 100 percent renewable energy – and to power 50 percent
of its operations with renewable energy by the end of 2025. Over the
past year, Walmart completed contracts for 136 new solar and wind
projects, which will supply the company an additional estimated 2.14
billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy annually – the equivalent
electricity usage of over 260,000 homes in a year.
To receive more information on Walmart’s sustainability efforts, please
read more in the Walmart
Global Responsibility Report.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and
live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and
through their mobile devices. Each week, over 275 million customers and
members visit our more than 11,300 stores under 58 banners in 27
countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2019 revenue of
$514.4 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 million associates worldwide.
Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate
philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about
Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com,
on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart
and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.
Contacts
Walmart Media Relations
Micah Ragland
1-800-331-0085
news.walmart.com/reporter
