Walmart Goes Full Green

In its quest to become a regenerative company by 2040, the American retail giant Walmart has set a series of eco-friendly goals, plus vowing to protect vast territories of land and oceans by 2030.

“The commitments we’re making today not only aim to decarbonize Walmart’s global operations, they also put us on the path to becoming a regenerative company—one that works to restore, renew and replenish in addition to preserving our planet, and encourages others to do the same,” says Doug McMillon, president and CEO of the retailer.

Walmart plans on electrifying its entire fleet of vehicles, and transitioning to low-impact refrigerants and electric sources of heating. Its efforts to protect at least 50 million acres of land and 1 million square miles of ocean by 2030 include preserving an acre of natural habitat for each acre of land the company develops on, and pushing the adoption of progressive practices in agriculture, fishery and forestry.

As of now, 30% of Walmart’s operations are renewable energy-powered, and it aims to turn that figure up to 100% by 2035. Also, about 80% of its waste doesn’t end up in landfills and incinerators. The giant retailer has also set up the Project Gigaton initiative in order for its suppliers to avoid a gigaton of greenhouse gas to be emitted by 2030. So far, 2,300 suppliers are part of the project, preventing a reported 230 million metric tons of emissions to be released.