GHG emissions:

Walmart has set an emissions reduction target for its own operations of 65% by 2030, which is in line with keeping warming below 1.5°C.

The company has also set an emissions target for its supply chain of 1 billion tonnes of CO2e “reduced or avoided” against a 2015 base year by 2030. This is not an absolute reduction target, and is not equivalent to the 55% reduction required.

Renewable energy:

Walmart has set a renewable energy target in its own operations of 100% by 2035, most of which will be additional to the grid.

Walmart has yet to set a goal of 100% renewable energy for its supply chain by 2030, which is an essential step for decarbonising its manufacturing.

Coal phase out:

Walmart has not publicly set a target to phase out coal-fired boilers from its supply chain by 2030 to reduce air pollution and cut emissions.

GHG emissions:

Walmart publicly reports GHG emissions in its own operations, and in its supply chain, and provides a full breakdown of its Scope 3 emissions.

Energy use:

Walmart publicly reports its energy use for its own operations, including a breakdown of its renewable energy use and how that energy is sourced.

For its supply chain, Walmart does not publicly report its energy use, or a breakdown of its suppliers’ renewable energy use and how that energy is sourced.

Suppliers:

Walmart does not provide a list of its suppliers.

Walmart provides its suppliers with training and resources to help them make energy efficiency improvements, and does report providing its major suppliers with financial incentives for energy efficiency measures, including engaging 70% of its suppliers (by spend) through its Project Gigaton program. Walmart does not require them to make energy savings as a condition of contract.

Walmart does not require suppliers to reduce thermal coal demand in their manufacturing processes.

Walmart does report providing its suppliers with training, resources, and financial support or incentives to help them transition to renewable energy through its Project Gigaton program, including offering financial incentives to suppliers who increase their share of renewable energy, but does not require suppliers to use renewable energy as a condition of contract.

Walmart does require its suppliers to disclose GHG emissions data and does require them to set GHG emissions reduction targets, but it does not require suppliers to provide facility level data via the Higg Index.

Walmart has not made any commitments to phase out fossil fuel based materials.

Walmart has not made a public policy to ban the sourcing of leather from the Amazon Biome, although it has a general policy to ensure that Amazon leather is not contributing to deforestation and supported a resolution to achieve “zero net deforestation” in its supply chain.

Low-carbon materials:

Walmart has not committed to increasing closed-loop apparel-to-apparel recycling for synthetics and plant-based materials by increasing the use of fibre to fibre recycling. Walmart has committed to source 50% of polyester for some own brand lines from recycled plastic by 2025, but not specifically from textiles. Walmart has not committed to reduce the impact of its raw materials sourcing by switching to organic cotton or cotton sourced from regenerative agriculture by 2030, but has committed to 100% “more sustainable” cotton by 2025, including Better Cotton.

Increasing circularity:

Walmart is not taking sufficient action to increase circularity and address overproduction by policies to improve the repairability, resale, durability and recyclability of its clothes, although it claims to engage customers on recycling and circularity.

Walmart does not publicly report its material mix, its volume of deadstock or how it manages or disposes of its deadstock to reduce waste.

Walmart does report its shipping emissions annually, but does not provide a breakdown of its transportation methods. Walmart does include its shipping emissions in its Scope 3 emissions target.

Walmart does not have a policy to avoid aviation and commit to slower shipping methods such as maritime, rail and land. The company does not report having a near-term plan to ship its cargo via cleaner methods. It is worth noting that Walmart has significantly increased its shipping-related greenhouse gas emissions over the past 2 years: its emissions in 2021 were 5 times higher than in 2019.

Walmart has not committed to transitioning to zero emissions vessels (ZEV) by 2030. The company has not used its voice publicly to advocate for Zero Emission Shipping.

Walmart has committed to transition its Canadian last-mile delivery to alternative fuels, but this is a limited target and not necessarily zero emission vehicles.

Walmart is in coalition with 39 other companies to sign the Clean Energy Demand Initiative (CEDI) Global Letter of Intent. This letter calls for a global clean energy transition in partnership with governments, non-profits, and other organizations.